


The Things Left Unsaid

by Cherryd



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cindy is just mentioned, F/M, Hurts So Good, Just angst, Spoilers, Will They, Won't they, be prepared to cry, because promptos dlc trailer made me want to cry, eventually, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-10-12 21:06:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10499475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherryd/pseuds/Cherryd
Summary: You are a blue mage and promptos hunting partner during the 10 year gap. You have unspoken feelings for him that put a strain on the relationship, and just when your friendship hits rock bottom, it sinks even further.





	1. That night - your pov

You tried. You really did.

You thought you would get over it, whatever it was you felt for Prompto. You thought you could be "adult" enough to handle seeing him happy with Cindy. You knew that there were worse things happening in the world. People were in danger, and everyday you put your life on the line to keep them safe. Shouldn't just being able to come back to hammerhead in one piece each night be enough for you?

You thought it would be. And you thought you could keep your relationship with your sunshine boy the same. But after months of putting on a brave face with him, sleeping next to him at camps, watching him come in and save you during battles like a chocobro in shining armor, knowing deep down he was always thinking about when he would get to see her again, you were tired. Tired of pretending everything was okay when everything clearly wasn't. It was a knife stabbing you in the heart, killing you from the inside. And it bled right through you.

You became irritable with Prompto. No matter what he did, you were mad. And to his credit he really did try. When you would stumble, he tried to reach out and catch you, but you just shoved him away, accusing him of babying you. If in battle you were hurt and he gave you a curative, you'd lecture him about wasting precious resources. The terrible puns that used to have you in stitches now made you grate your teeth and walk away in annoyance.

You knew you were being unfair to him. He didn't know how you felt. And when he confided in you that Cindy finally agreed to a date with him so many months ago, he was so beyond ecstatic, and you knew you were too late. You had had your chance countless times. Cold nights huddled together at camps, late nights playing cards in the tent. Hell even in certain mines, hunting for the ore that glowed in the dark could have been considered romantic. But you wasted your time denying, denying, denying so you wouldn't get hurt, but that's exactly what happened.

And you were hurting him too. Each time you coldly brushed his friendly hand off your shoulder, each time you returned his sunshine smile with a scowl, you could see a flash of pain in his eyes too. Unlike you, he had no idea what he was doing to you. What you were doing was spiteful and petty, but you didn't know how to stop. How does one fix a bleeding heart?

You were running through your guilt and heartache as you and he pulled up to hammerhead in silence. Before getting out of the car, he tapped your elbow to show you a cool shot he took of you casting a spell during the last hunt.

Uh oh, big mistake buddy. "Instead of taking pictures all the time, why don't you try actually helping me once in a while. You're supposed to be shooting your gun, not your goddamn camera." You snap at him as you opened the car door to get out.

Prompto wasn't even surprised anymore by your outbursts, but he had had enough. He got out of the car as you grabbed your bags from the backseat and you started walking to the hunters headquarters to check in your bounty. He grabbed your elbow and turned you back around so you were facing him again.

"What is your damn problem, _______?" The blond asked. His cheeks were flushed with anger and he hadn't let go of your elbow.

"Oh yeah, right" you scoffed, "like you care!" You jerk your elbow to try to get his hand off but after years of wielding guns, his grip was a lot stronger than it looked. "Let go of me!" You yelled as loud as you could without making a scene, even though everyone else was already inside HQ.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong. Why are you acting like this!?" He demanded. You could see in his blue eyes, behind all the frustration, the sadness over the feeling that he may be losing one of his closest friends.

But you couldn't take on his sadness right now, you were too busy trying to mask yours with anger. "You want to know what's my problem? My problem is you, Prompto. Ever since you started going out with Cindy that's all you can think about. You are getting sloppy on hunts, and distracted during battles. You are supposed to be MY partner when we hunt but clearly I don't have your undivided attention so I'm sorry if I'm a little annoyed with you lately."

Prompto finally let go and crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively. "So you're jealous, is that it? Look I'm sorry that my happiness is such an inconvenience to you, but you are being unfair. Don't I deserve to be happy? If you were my friend, you would understand, and be happy for me!"

You tilted your head back and rolled your eyes, utterly irked. "I AM happy for you Prompto. I REALLY am." You lied. "But your happiness is putting us both in danger, and I don't know if I can trust you in battles anymore! That's why I'm annoyed."

At that he snorted and started turning back to the car to grab his things too. "Well if that's how you feel, if you don't trust me, then maybe we shouldn't be hunting partners anymore." He replied coolly before walking past you to the headquarters, leaving you alone and stunned.

 

Instead of following him inside, you walked off to the opposite side of the caravan for some privacy, trying to absorb what just happened and how you felt about everything.

It was there, in the shadows of the caravan, he approached. Ardyn Izunia. The monster that caused all of this.

"Oh dear, you look troubled" He teased in his almost song like voice. And he was right. You were in trouble, your weapons were with Prompto, so all you had was your magic, but you were still weak from your hunt earlier that night and didn't know if you had what it took to stave off the immortal until you could get away.

Seeing you tense, he continued softly "now now, no need to fear me" as you slowly tried to inched your way back to the side of the caravan that faced hammerhead. Maybe someone in headquarters would see the two of you.

"My dear, no need to look so frightened. I mean you no harm. I am just a man with a proposition for you. I hear rumors in the night of the girl that can use a daemons magic against them, and knew I had to come meet you. I believe you and I could be of help to one another. I'm afraid one of Ifrit's messengers has been slain. I'm to look for one worthy of his gifts and I think I have found her. And thus my proposal, come with me, be a messenger to the God of fire, and I can promise you more power than you could ever dream." His smile was almost inviting, as he gently extended his hand for you to take.

But he was the reason for all of this, the darkness, the daemons. He was the reason your parents had died. "I'd burn in hell before I'd ever help you!" You spat at him before turning around, trying to make a break for it. You hadn't even gotten 10 feet away from the caravan before he was in front of you with a sword pointed at you. "Well I can arrange that too." He smirked as his eyes turned blacker than the night.

He lunged at you but you dodged his attack. He may have been more powerful than you, but you had agility on your side, and a few spells up your sleeve.

He came at you again and again, but you managed to dodge each of his attacks, guiding the battle closer and closer to headquarters.

When you were halfway between the caravan and the building, he attacked once more and his aim was true but you managed to cast Mighty Guard just in time so his assault left only a flesh wound.

Ardyn paused for just a few seconds, stunned that his attack hadn't fell you, and in his hesitation, you cast Bad Breathe, inflicting him with poison and darkness. You were disappointed confusion hadn't stuck, but darkness was really all you needed.

As he swung blindly in the air, you managed get in a few physical attacks and just as the effects of your magic wore off, you kick him down and stole his sword. You heard the doors to the headquarters swing open behind you. "Thank the gods" you thought, "reinforcement."

Coming out of the darkness and seeing his sword now with you and a fellow hunter behind you, you expected to see fear in his eyes. Or hell, even annoyance, but instead he was smirking at the two of you.

How irritating.

You charged at him, hoping whatever attack you could land would hurt him enough to make him retreat. As you closed the distance between you he withdrew a few steps and called out to the person behind you "Prompto!"

And you stumbled.

You hadn't heard the gunshot. You hadn't even felt the bullet as it tore through your core. But what you could feel was the sudden warmth as your blood spilled out of you, soaking into your shirt. You turned to look behind you and saw Prompto there, gun pointed at you and a look of absolute hatred piercing you. Before you could register much more, you collapsed in a pool of your own blood. And as your eyes dropped, succumbing to a sudden tiredness you hadn't felt just a few seconds before, you wondered to yourself how the blood around you could be so warm, and yet you feel so cold. And then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is from promptos pov


	2. That night - prompto's pov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything from promptos pov

"...then maybe we shouldn't be hunting partners anymore."

Prompto walked by you without even looking, seething with hurt and anger. But by the time he reached the doors to HQ, he regretted his harsh words. The thought of you two actually not being partners anymore left him feeling hollow.

When the doors closed behind him he paused for a minute. "No, don't go back now. She's the jerk, not you. Let her come apologize." He thought to himself before continuing down the long hall. Instead of turning left to the few sleeping quarters there to find his girlfriend, he turned right, to the gym in the back. Despite how tired he was from your last hunt, your argument had left him full of adrenaline he wanted to run out of himself. He had expected to hear you enter HQ behind him before he got to the double doors of the gym, but he didn't and the silence following him made his stomach churn.

When he entered the gym he was gripping his stomach, kicking himself for not taking his meds before. He reached into his bag and pulled out his iPod, before surveying the room. Because of the late hour, there was only 1 other person there, everyone else was either asleep or back at Lestallum. And of course the only other one working out right now was gladio.

The blond waved at his muscular friend as he made his way over to a treadmill. Gladio looked up and nodded towards prompto, but got up when he noticed Prompto didn't have his signature smile on his face. 

He walked over to the front of promptos treadmill and leaned over the display, blocking the speed and mileage stats with his arms. Prompto, not really wanting to talk, kept his gaze forward and continued running at an even pace.

Gladio reached up and lazily flicked one of his friend's earbuds out of his ear to get his attention. 

"Hey!" Prompto cried in annoyance, but didn't stop running.

"What's up kid? What's eating you. Better get it out now before you stress yourself out." Gladio had a bemused look on his face. Sometimes he couldn't help but laugh at some of the things Prompto worried about. The kid, for all his jokes and antics, was a mess of insecurities.

"It's nothing." Prompto said slightly winded from running. Gladio raised an eyebrow and gave his shorter friend an incredulous look.

"It's just me and ________ got into a fight just now. Apparently she's not the the biggest fan of me being happy with Cindy....says I'm getting distracted in battles and whatever. But she's just looking for a reason to fight. I know she is and I don't understand why but I don't really care anymore! She wants to be this way that's fine by me!" Promptos voice got louder and louder as he talked about it. Reigniting the indignation he had felt earlier.

Gladio nodded his head slowly and looked down thoughtfully. When he looked back up, he was smirking at his young friend.

"What's with the face!?" Prompto asked, annoyed that his friend wasn't as angry for him as he himself felt.

Gladio chuckled, "just didn't know you had it in you, kid."

"What to get mad?" Prompto asked confused.

"No! Have it in you to have not just one, but two beautiful, strong women eating out of the palm of your hand" gladio laughed at prompto's obtusity. "Most guys wouldn't call this a problem, prom." He continued.

Oh no, gladios lost it, thought Prompto. "Uh, sorry big guy, but I don't think that's what's going on here. ____ doesn't like me." Prompto corrected his friend in a matter of fact voice. Why would she like him? She was stunning. She was an amazing fighter, braver than anyone else he knew, and one of the kindest, funniest people he had ever met. Or she used to be.

He thought back to how it was before with her. How he could tell her anything. They could joke with each other on a whole different level than with anyone else. Have each other rolling on the ground, gasping for breath from laughing so hard. He could also tell her his fear about not being a good hunting partner for her, his past and his lineage, how guilty he felt for not being able to help his best friend in Gralea. He could tell her things he couldn't tell anyone else, not even his best friend standing in front of him now. And whenever he would get in a slump, feel down on himself, she would reach out with her hand and give him an understanding squeeze and remind him of everything good he's done, and everything good he was. It was because of her he felt confident enough to even ask Cindy out in the first place.

She was incredible, and way too good of a person to ever see Prompto as anything other than a friend. She was perfect, and he was the complete opposite of that. 

Gladio playfully smacking Prompto on his shoulder, making him falter a bit on the treadmill, brought him back to reality. "You got a lot to learn about women," gladio started with a mock concerned look on his face. 

Prompto watched as gladio turned to the bench press next to his treadmill to continue his workout. "I REALLY don't think that's it gladio..." 

"I'm telling you Prom, it is. And if you want to be able to keep working together, you gotta figure out what you want and talk to her." Gladio responded with unwavering confidence, effectively ending the discussion.

Prompto racked his brain trying to understand what gladio was saying. _______ had...FEELINGS for Prompto? He reached deep into his memories of better times, and remembered when she would get this far off look in her eyes sometimes when she looked at him. Or how when he would brush up against her on accident, she would get nervous and let out a laugh saying he had startled her. Or on the few occasions he'd let his insecurities get the better of him she'd pull him into a hug and would hold him tight in her arms like she never wanted to let go. He then thought about the day he told her that Cindy had said yes to a date with him. He had expected her to be just as happy as he was. But he remembered a look of shock and, for just a moment, disappointment, before she plastered on a fake smile that never reached her eyes and congratulated him. And since then those were the only kind of smiles she ever gave him.

"Shit!" Prompto's eyes widened as he scrambled to turn off the treadmill. 

"Where you going?" Gladio called after him. Prompto was already at the door to the gym, but called back to his friend over his shoulders. "I gotta talk to her! Like now."

He waved goodbye as he made his way down the long hall, out of the building. He didn't know what he was going to say or what he felt, but he knew he needed to find you. He was trying to figure out how to even start to apologize to you when he opened the door to the outside and stood in shock as he looked up.

There you were, with a cloud of darkness surrounding your face, swinging a sword he had never seen before blindly. And there HE was. Ardyn, practically dancing around you, dodging in and out, taking cheap shots at you in your disabled state. He froze for just a few seconds.

But as the cloud of darkness started fading from you, ardyn managed to kick you down and steal your sword. His back was to Prompto and probably didn't realize he was there. Ardyn started backing up quickly to create some distance between the two of you. 

Prompto watched as you picked yourself up slowly and looked at your empty hands before turning around to face your assailant and your friend standing further behind. When you saw Prompto, you looked back at Ardyn and smirked.

Prompto came out of his stupor and summoned his gun and pointed it at the immortal's back. He may be immortal, but he could atleast still feel pain. Right then, Ardyn charged full force at you, preparing to strike you with a deathblow. the blond saw you back up, out of prompto's line of fire, and heard you scream his name. "Prompto!"

In that instant, Prompto fired his specialty, piercer, hitting the immortal with enough force to throw him off balance. 

Ardyn stumbled to one knee and dropped the sword. His shoulders shuddered as his breath became labored. He turned around to see who had shot him, and when he and promptos eyes met, all the hatred and anger prompto felt toward the man poured out in his stare.

Prompto expected Ardyn to regenerate or heal or whatever it was immortals did, so he didn't lower his weapon, but what he didn't expect was the look of shock, confusion, and heartbreak he received from the red haired man. Or the soft, unsteady "Prompto?" That fell from his lips, barely even a whisper.

Then Ardyn collapsed into a pool of blood and prompto realized something wasn't right. He remembered back at the Nif base in Gralea, when he, Ignis, and gladio attacked Ardyn and the chancellor went down for a second, there was no blood then. Immortals don't bleed, so why was he now covered in it?

Prompto was trying to piece this together, when he saw you move in his peripheral. You walked towards Ardyn, almost strutting, with a smirk that gave way to some darkness he'd never seen in you. It both made you more beautiful and more terrifying than he'd ever known you to be. 

"Thank you my dear boy, as always you prove yourself to be so useful to me." You say, almost sing. 

He watched you in confusion, as you reached down to pick up the forgotten sword, and reached over to Ardyn to pull something from his neck.

But when you straightened back up again to eye the gunslinger once more, it wasn't you looking at Prompto smiling anymore, it was Ardyn. And you, instead, were laying at his feet in blood soaked clothes.

Promptos eyes widened as a memory came flooding back. He was with Noct, on a train through Niflheim when his friend attacked him, blaming him for King Regis and Luna's deaths. And he remembered running away to give Noct some space, but when he returned he saw off in the distance Noct fighting MTs with...himself? But Prompto was on the train still, so how was he also fighting next to Noct, protecting the train?

Back then, it had clicked immediately for Prompto. He put two and two together in an instant and didn't know how Ardyn did it, but knew exactly what was happening. 

But tonight he couldn't figure it out. He couldn't put the pieces together in his mind. That wasn't you unconscious on the ground and it wasn't Ardyn standing over you. It couldn't be, because if it was, that will have meant your last memories were of Prompto telling you he didn't want to be partners anymore, and him shooting...."no" he thought to himself. No. That's not what happened. This is not what's happening.

Prompto, still holding his gun, started shaking at the realization of what he had done. 

Ardyn could see everything come together in the boy's mind, and tossed what he had taken off your neck to the now crying man. Prompto quickly caught the object in his free hand, and looked down at your bloodstained dog tags. 

Ardyn took this time to reach down and pick you up by a limp arm, hoisting your near lifeless body into his arms. Your head rolled back and your other arm hung loose towards the ground, a few drops of blood rolling off your finger tips to join the larger pool left behind. 

Ardyn turned his back to the guilt ridden man and started walking with you out into the darkness. 

Prompto screamed your name and started running after you but it was too late, Ardyn just vanished, taking you with him. Leaving only your dog tags and blood behind as evidence you had ever existed.


	3. What's in a name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ardyn's a dick. Way to waste everyone's time!

You woke up with a start, clenching the scar on your stomach with both hands. It was the same dream you had every night for the last few days, or was it weeks, or was it months? However long it’s been since you were taken. 

You are standing in complete darkness, all alone. Then suddenly you see him, your ray of sunshine, walking toward you. you're about to cry out his name, relieved he has found you, ready to run up to him and embrace him. But you stop short when you see the look he gives you. It’s emotionless and cold. You call out his name, softly, questioningly. "Prompto?" He raises his gun, points it at you and shoots. You feel the bullet rip through you and you collapse on your knees while he just stands there, watching you.

Each day, you woke up from the same bad dream, to your living nightmare. You laid back down on the bare bench you used as a bed, chained at the hands and feet to the wall nearby. You were in one of the abandoned prison cells at Gralea. Home sweet home. You sighed deeply to try to forget about your dreams. Knowing you would not be able to go back to sleep now, you sat up and started your daily ritual. On a piece of paper you had found in the cell, you had written just a few lines that each day you read to yourself.

"My name is ______. I am a blue mage. I am a hunter. My partner is Prompto."

Over and over you read it to yourself. Willing yourself to remember. You had to remember. You could not let Ardyn win.

Each day you did this because each day Ardyn injected you with refined Malboro toxin to keep you in a state of confusion, a safe guard against you running away should you manage to break the chains locked around your wrists and ankles. At first, the effects had only lasted a few hours. But as you were exposed to more and more of it, it's effects became stronger and stronger. After being injected now, you would not only be unable to focus, or see straight. You would forget where you were, what had happened, why you were being kept here, who you were.Sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. The first time the effects had been that potent, when you came out of it, you scoured the mess of a jail cell until you found the scrap of paper and a broken pen and wrote down what was most important about yourself. "My name is ______. I am a blue mage. I am a hunter. My partner is Prompto."

It's all you had left of yourself. The constant exposure to confusion had damaged you, fractured your mind. You couldn't recall past events anymore with any degree of detail, couldn't remember your parents' faces. You had trouble distinguishing between reality and dreams. Well just the one dream.

You were in the middle of rereading your scrap of paper, when you heard in the distance the sound of a metal door opening, and slow foot steps coming toward you. You folded the paper carefully, put it back in your pocket, and looked down at the floor as you repeated the facts to yourself mentally. You didn't even look up as the Chancellor opened your cell door and put a tray of food in front of you.

"My dear, you look better and better each time I visit!" Ardyn exclaimed excitedly. "Come, eat something, you need to get back to your full strength should the astral choose you to be a messenger."

You looked at the food, and felt the hollowness of your empty stomach. But instead of accepting your warden's offer, you kicked the tray to the floor. "Go to hell."

Ardyn smiled at your ironic choice of words. "Oh my dear, now is this the thanks I get for saving you?"

"Something tells me I wouldn't have needed saving if it hadn't been for you." You responded coldly.

"But you don't remember, do you?" Ardyn chuckled as if the answer were the funniest joke he had ever heard.

You looked down, trying desperately to remember what had happened. Prompto was there, and Ardyn was there. And you think there was a fight, and then..and then...nothing. That's all you remembered anymore. All you knew about what had happened when you were taken. 

You went back to your four facts. It didn't matter what happened that night. All that mattered was that your name was _____. You were a blue mage. You were a hunter. Your partner was Prompto.

Ardyn, getting bored of your silence, withdrew a needle from one of his pockets. "Well if you refuse to eat now, then I have just the antidote. You are always much more amicable anyway after your doses." he said to himself.

You continued to ignore him, opting instead to keep remembering. "My name is _____. I am a blue mage. I am a hunter. My partner is Prompto." 

You felt the needle dig into your arm, and winced as the venom was injected into your bloodstream. "My name is.........._______. I am a blue mage. I am a.....a hunter. My partner is.......My partner is........"

"My dear, are you hungry?" The man sitting in front of you asked kindly. You reached over to the plate of food he had brought, trying to recall what it was you were just thinking about.

 

Suddenly you are standing in complete darkness, all alone. You can't tell if it has been minutes or hours that passed. Then you see someone walking toward you. He looks so familiar, and your heart flutters at the sight of his blond hair. Who is he again? you start running to him but stop short when you see the look he gives you. It’s emotionless and cold. You want to call out his name and ask him what is wrong, but you can't remember it. What is his name! He raises his gun, points it at you and shoots. You feel the bullet rip through you and you collapse on your knees while he just stands there, watching you.

You woke up, holding your stomach. There was a scar there. When did you get that? You looked at the chains at your wrist and legs. How long have you been here? As if by muscle memory you reached into your pocket and found a folded up piece of paper. You read it. "My name is _____. I am a blue mage. I am a hunter. My partner is ... prompto?" The name was so familiar, you racked your brain trying to remember. You KNEW who this was. you knew you knew. you just needed to concentrate.

you reread it again. and again. and again. hoping each time you'd remember why these words meant so much to you. you knew they were important. you knew that was your writing. you just couldn't remember why.

You were rereading your paper for the umpteenth time when your cell door opened. It was him, you recognized him. But who was he? was he prompto? No, you told yourself. You didn't know why but something in your gut told you not to trust him. 

"My dear, I think it's time. I think you are ready." He says as he releases your chains, not from you wrists or ankles but from the wall itself. he gathered the chains in his hands, as if you were a dog on a leash. "Come with me." He commanded.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" you hissed at him, as you recoiled against the wall, dropping the piece of paper you had in your hands.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "My dear, must we do this every time?" he asked as he reached into his coat and pulled out a syringe. He inject you with the toxin. 

"Come with me my dear." 

"Where...where are we? Where are we going?" you asked in a daze. Your brain began to fog up and you hadn't even realized you started walking with him. He led you out of the cell you were in and guided you through the strange, dark labyrinth of a building, to the very heart of it. He lead you to a room and there in the center was a small glass case with a red crystal in it. 

The strange man took out the crystal and grabbed one of your hands to hold it open. He dropped the crystal into your palm and forced your fist closed. There was a flash of light and then pain. The Crystal was burning a hole in your palm. You started screaming, trying to wrestle your hand out of the strange man's grip, but he was too strong. You keeled over in pain, crying out. you looked up and saw the man doing this to you looked down at your hand disappointed. But it wasn't until the veins in your hands looked like they were on fire that he finally let go and let you release the crystal.

when you were free you crawled away from both as fast as you could, afraid of what he might do to you next. 

Ardyn sighed, "It looks like you weren't worthy after all." And looked at the dropped crystal in disappointment.

You cradled your burned hand and look back at him terrified. "What you are you going to do with me?" You almost didn't want to know.

He looked at you, a bit of confused by your question. "My dear, I had told you once that I mean you know harm, and I meant it. I had merely brought you here to see if you could help me, but i was clearly mistaken."

"So...so you'll take me back?" You asked, without even knowing where "back" was, and you already had a sense of what his answer would be.

Ardyn smirked at your naivety "my dear, I only help those that can help me. And you, I am afraid, are completely useless to me." He started slowly walking to you "you are nothing to me" he said gently. When he reached you, he took your chin in his hand and looked you dead in the eyes. "You are nobody." And with that, he vanished. 

You sat in silence, alone on the floor, trying to figure out what happened. Who was that man? why were you here?

 

...who are you?? 

You tried to remember. 

Your name. that should be easy enough.  
"Your name is......it's........" You closed your eyes to concentrate. "Your name is.........."

Suddenly you are standing in complete darkness, all alone. A blond man approaches you. who is he? you start walking up to him to try and ask him for help, but you stop short when you see the look he gives you. It’s emotionless and cold. your curiosity turns to fear as you stumble back away from him. He raises his gun, points it at you and shoots. You feel the bullet rip through you and you collapse on your knees while he just stands there, watching you.

You jerked out of sleep, confused and lost in your own mind, and started running. Out of the room, out of the base, just trying to get away from the blond man with the gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I keep going? Let me know what you think. If I did, next chapter would be from promptos pov, and what he's been up to during this time.


	4. While you were away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From Prompto's POV. how he's been doing without you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have the tendency to post a chapter, read it after i've posted it, and edit paragraphs here and there. so i definitely would suggest holding off on reading the chapters for a few hours or rereading after a bit.

Prompto ran into the building, screaming for help.

After he saw you and Ardyn disappear, Prompto barged back into the gym, sobbing and panicked, still clenching onto your dog tags, smearing blood on his gloves. "She's gone, Gladio! Please! Help me. You have to help me." He begged.

Gladio had never seen Prompto this hysterical. he didn't understand what was happening. He made Prompto go over the whole story from start to finish. Once Gladio realized what had happened he went to wake up Ignis. Ignis was the strategist. He was the one who spent years studying the key players in the Niflheim hierarchy. If anyone would know where Ardyn took you, it was him.

But when Ignis woke up, he too demanded to hear exactly what happened. He made Prompto retell it again and again, trying to get more and more details.

Finally Prompto couldn't take it anymore. "That's all I know! That's all I saw! This is all the information we have and I'm not wasting another minute talking about it anymore. She is out there, she needs our help. and you are just wasting time. I HAVE TO GO FIND HER!" He screamed at his friends.

That night all of the hunters were scattered across Lucii to search for you. Some hunters returned after a few days of looking for you. Some even spent a week out before heading back to headquarters. But none stayed out longer than Prompto. he was gone for weeks at a time, scouring every inch of Lucii he could looking for clues as to where you had gone. In his heart he knew you weren't there. He could just feel it. But he still hoped.

The first month You were gone, he barely slept. Only resting when he absolutely needed too. Only coming back to hammerhead when he needed to stock up on ammo or curatives. He let himself run ragged, and let his relationship with Cindy die.

He never even formally told her they were over. But they both knew, and it didn't need to be said. Having that kind of conversation was just going to take time away that he could be out there looking for you.

After a few more weeks, Dave and all the other hunters accepted the fact that you were dead. They started packing up the few items you had at hammerhead to make room for new hunters.

They had just started tossing your things out when Prompto came back for one of his pit stops. When he saw your belongings in the trash his face turned red with anger. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? She's still out there! She's still alive!" He demanded with no proof.

Dave tried to calm him down "Prompto, it's been over a month, she was injured when she was kidnapped. Son, it's time to accept it and move on."

 

Prompto grabbed what he could of yours from the trash and stormed out of HQ, but not before giving Dave a black eye.

He took all your things to his apartment in Lestallum to keep safe. He decided then that he needed to stop wasting time. 

He waited a week for Aranea to get back from her last hunt in one of the forgotten mines. When he heard that the commodore was on her way back, he went to hammerhead to meet her. She had barely gotten off of her airship when he cornered her.

"Aranea. I need your help." The pain and determination in the young blond's voice stopped her from saying whatever smart ass remark she had ready. She let him continue without interruption.

"I need you to take me back to Niflheim. Back to Gralea." Aranea didn't need any additional explanation. All the hunters knew Prompto was obsessed with finding you. He was letting the idea, the hope that you were still alive, drive him crazy.

But they were all wrong. He knew that's where you'd be. He just knew it. He had felt it all along. It's where Ardyn took him after he fell from the train. It's where Ardyn lured Noctis to the crystal, and it's where you were being held now. He was sure of it. He just needed a way to get there and Aranea, with her airship, was just it.

He was afraid Aranea would say no, that he was wasting his time, that you were dead. But to his surprise, she obliged with one condition. "I get it, I do. You just need to know. I'll take you there kid, I'll even search the base with you, but if we go and she's not there, that's it. You have to move on Prompto. You have to stop looking."

Prompto agreed, and meant it wholeheartedly because he was 100% sure that's where you would be.

They left the next day and arrived at the base by nightfall.

Aranea, true to her word, ordered Biggs and Wedge to split up so they could search the huge base faster.  
Prompto expressed his thanks, and with new energy, ran through the cells calling your name. After hours of searching cell after cell, he, for the first time, started feeling his hope waver. 

It came in a wave that knocked the breath out of him. He had to sit down, and try to control his breathing before he lost it. He went to the nearest cell and sat down on the bench, shaking and holding back his tears.

It was as he was looking down, with his head hanging between his knees to try to catch his breath, that he saw it. A scrap of paper, sticking out from under the bench with his name on it. 

He reached down and picked it up. For the first time since the night you were taken, he felt you with him.

"My name is __________. I am a blue Mage. I am a hunter. My partner is Prompto."

He sat there, in the same spot you had, and read and reread the same message you did. He studied it. Studied your handwriting. Studied the creases from where you folded it. 

He closed his eyes and he imagined you alone in this cell, looking at the note you left behind. It was both the most heartbreaking and most hopeful image he had ever seen.

He opened his eyes and started running further down the cells. Screaming your name. He ran and ran until he reached the center of the base where Biggs, Wedge, and Aranea were waiting for him.

"There you are, we were just about to go searching for you. We have to go." The commodore said.

"No wait! You don't understand. She was here. I found this in one of the cells." Prompto showed the three of them your note to yourself.

Aranea looked at it, but wasn't impressed. "Yeah, she may have been here, but she's not anymore." She said flatly.

"But she could be clo-" Prompto started, but was interrupted.

"That's enough Prompto. A deal is a deal. What you are doing is not healthy. You have to stop looking for her. Look at that piece of paper, it's as old as the emperor was. She may have written it but she's long gone now and you have to accept it and move on!" 

Aranea turned to leave. Biggs and Wedge looked apologetically at Prompto, but moved to follow their commodore. Prompto having no choice, followed suit. But you were there, and you could still be alive. He could at least walk away with that.

He tried to hold onto that hope, and for a few weeks, he did. He couldn't go searching all of Niflheim for you. But any chance he got, he'd volunteer for hunts in the area. he thought maybe, just maybe, you two would find each other out there. But he never did and each time he went out, and didn't come back with you, the little bit of hope he had left, that he had invested his entire being into, that no one else carried, grew smaller and smaller, until he became just a shell of a man.

 

He was with Gladio walking the crowded streets of Lestallum, getting ready to head back to hammerhead for a new hunt, when he saw a woman in the crowd that looked just like you. The same height, same build, same hair walking away from him in the crowd. He froze next to Gladio, and then started running. Dodging in and out of people and crowds, shoving his way to you. 

When he caught up to her, he grabbed her wrist, turned her around and hugged her tight, calling your name. She screamed a bit in surprised and shoved Prompto off of her. When he stumbled back, he finally got a good look at her face and realized his mistake. He started trying to apologize when Gladiolus caught up to them both.

"What the hell are you doing, Prompto!" He asked the blond. "What are you crazy!? You can't do shit like that."

"I-I-I'm sorry. I don't know...I thought....I...I have to go!" Prompto stuttered. To have felt the joy of finding you, only to have it ripped away in 2 seconds was too much for him. He had to get out of there. He apologized again and ran back to his apartment.

When he got there, he looked around his room and saw all of your things he had kept for you, all the pictures of the two of you he had saved. He suddenly became enraged looking at it all. It reminded him of all the time he had spent trying to find you. All the false hope he had carried for months. You were never coming back and he was finally understanding that. And he hated you for it, blamed you for it. How could you do this to him? How could you just leave him? 

Sniffling slightly, he grabbed an empty box he had lying around and started shoving your clothes, your belongings, the pictures he had up into the box. He was getting angrier and angrier with each item he threw in that box and when there was nothing left of yours to shove down, he sat on the couch, seething over it. He reached into his pocket and took out your note he had found at Gralea, that he had carried with him since, and shoved that into the box as well.

He then reached into the collar of his shirt and ripped off the second set of dog tags he wore with your name on it. He was going to throw it into the box, but he paused for just a second and looked at it one more time. There was still a bit of your blood dried into the grooves where your name was etched. He remembered all the hunts then. The good times, the bad. The fight. That night. 

And then the floodgates opened. In the privacy of his home, he let it all out. The pain, anger, feeling of abandonment, feeling of helplessness, regret. But you weren't there to help him, to remind him of all the good he has done, all the good that he was. There was so much he wanted to tell you. Hoped that one day he still could. He thought about how he could have done things different. How he could have saved you, how he could have been with you. 

But he wasn't ever going to be able to. He squeezed your tags in his hand until the metal dug into his skin and held it close to his chest.

His phone rang, and without even trying to hide the fact he was crying, he answered.

"What do you want Ignis?" Prompto asked bitterly.

"We found her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll admit i'm not the best at conveying the passage of time. oh well. hopefully this last chapter hasn't turned you off to the story! :(


	5. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unbeknownst to you, you reunite with some old friends.

Ignis was walking from the hammerhead parking lot to headquarters next to Iris, quietly pondering the ruins they had just discovered. He, along with Iris and Cor, had just returned from one of the royal tombs. Ignis, to look for clues about where Noct went and what it meant for him to be the Chosen King, Iris to help describe the ruins etched along the walls to Ignis for his interpretation, and Cor, to help train Iris to become a daemon slayer.

Cor had hurried inside to brief Dave about their latest hunt, the ore they found, etc., while Iris and Ignis unloaded their supplies from the car. 

It was then, as he and Iris were walking back, that he heard it. Footsteps behind them, and the sound of metal dragging softly against the asphalt. Iris hadn't noticed as her hearing wasn't as fine tuned. Ignis was starting to notice his other senses compensating for his lack of vision. And he was excelling. He could tell just by the sound of the footsteps, that it wasn't a daemon or beast that stalked them but human.

He turned around slowly and asked to the darkness "Is someone there?"

The foot steps stopped. He could sense Iris tense as she turned and saw that someone was following them. 

"Are you...are you real?" asked their pursuer.

Her voice was small, shakey, and unsure. Ignis's heart started racing. That voice, he knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in over three months but he recognized it immediately.  
His shock must have been apparent on his face because Iris gently grabbed his wrist to get his attention and asked "Who is it Ignis?"

Without answering, Ignis pulled out his phone and pushed a contact he had memorized the location of on his speed dial.

Iris could hear Prompto answer on the other end. 

"What do you want Ignis?"

"We found her."

Iris gasped as the realization hit her, Ignis hung up, and you stood there, emaciated, confused, dragging chains behind your arms and legs, waiting for the two strangers to answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dark haired girl started running up to you, but stopped when she saw you recoil in fear.

You had spent countless nights on your own, traveling from abandoned town to abandoned town looking for someone to help you, someone to tell you who you were. But there was no one. The only person you ever saw was the man from your dream, with the icy blue eyes.

For months you walked, instinct told you to go north until you found someone. And when you reached a town floating above a sea, you found an abandoned boat and sailed. Something in your gut told you that your answers would be north, and without memories, what else did you have to go on?

Finally when you saw the lights of hammerhead in the distance, you knew. This is where you needed to be. But being isolated for so long, seeing this strange girl coming toward you so quickly put you on edge.

She must have noticed you tense because she stopped and spoke to you softly. "it's okay, you're okay. I won't hurt you, _______."

Your eyes widened. "What at did you call me?"

She gave you a quizzical look. "________. It's your name?"

Before you could process this, the one she called Ignis asked gently "Do you know who you are?"

"Nobody." You answered. Someone had told you that but you couldn't remember who anymore. "I'm nobody."

Suddenly the exhaustion caught up with you and you fell forward. Iris rushed to catch you and hoisted your arm onto her shoulder to keep you standing. She called for Ignis to help as well, and the two of them walked you into the building in the center of all the lights. 

There were more people inside and everything was so bright. You closed your eyes, overwhelmed by noises, movement, and light. It made you dizzy and strained your already unfocused mind.

Ignis called to someone and guided you to the right, into a small, quiet room with a bed in it. They gently guided you down to sit on the bed and Iris grabbed a small jar and broke it over you. You could feel the potion working, healing your smaller cuts and wounds, numbing some of the pain where over the last few months, your shackles had dug into your bones. As the relief washed over you, you thanked Iris.

She nodded in acknowledgement and turned to away from you, but you grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Wait, what did you call me?" You asked again.

"_________. Your name is _______."

You thought, after months of asking yourself who you were, that learning your name would make you feel at peace, happy even. But you still felt nothing. It was just a name and you knew nothing about what it meant. What being "______" meant.

Two people walked in, bringing you out of your broken mind. A tall muscular man, and another in a lab coat. The man in the lab coat examined you, while Ignis and the other man called Gladio, asked you questions. "Do you know where you are?" No. "Do you remember how you got here?" I walked. "Do you know who took you?" No. "Do you remember where you were before you started walking?" No.

You remembered nothing. Your eyes had faded in and out of focus as your mind did.

The doctor finished his exam and told Ignis and gladio it was high exposure to Marlboro venom that caused the memory loss. High dosage elixirs over the next few days would would help the immediate confusion you felt, but the memory would just have to take time.

You had retreated back into your foggy mind as the 3 men were discussing dosage amounts, times per day, probability of you getting memory back, when you heard hurried footsteps coming down the hall. 

"Where is she!?" A frantic voice asked coming toward the room.

The door swung open and then he rushed in. You were still coming out of your stupor when the new figure in the room saw you. He took you in for a moment before you looked up at him, into his intense, blue eyes. At the man from your nightmare. The one who every night shot you and watched you die.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" You screamed as you jumped up to your feet. But the room started spinning. You fell onto your side and he was standing over you, watching you. You started desperately trying to back away from him, half crawling half stumbling.

He lunged at you, trying to catch you but Ignis and the doctor held him back as Gladio helped you back to your feet. 

He was struggling against the two men. "LET ME GO! ________! I SAID LET ME GO!" He called out the name Iris had given you.

Gladio was helping keep you steady and could feel you trembling from fear. "Prompto, get out of here!" He yelled.

The blond ignored him, and wrestled himself free from the other two's grip. He ran at you again and grabbed your wrist to pull you towards him. 

You let you a blood curling scream as you lashed out at him in terror, striking his face, leaving three scratches across his cheek. He let you go and you tore yourself free of gladio's arms and backed yourself against the far wall of the small room.

You started crying out, "Please. Please don't hurt me." You grabbed your stomach instinctively, where your scar was, where he shot you every night. 

He took a step towards you slowly and you raised your other hand in self defense. "Please, not again! Please don't hurt me again." You begged. Sobbing in fear and desperation.

"_________." He called your name softly. He let himself be guided out by Gladio but never took his eyes off of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Prom! :( 
> 
> why don't I just rub some salt in those wounds for you?
> 
> Also I'm spitting out a lot of chapters this weekend because if I don't, I might forget where I am going with this. hopefully my haste isn't hurting the story :/
> 
> Also my personal headcannon: The boat she took in Altissia was totally king regis's, and she didn't tie it up when she landed at Galdin Quay which is why noct found it back in Angelsgard when he woke up.


	6. So close, but so far.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto's pov.  
> Both salty and sweet.

Prompto hadn't even said goodbye to Ignis, or thanked him before he hung up on his friend. He didn't care. She was there, at Hammerhead and he needed to be there right away.

Prompto ran out of his apartment, through the streets of Lestallum until he arrived at the hunter's entrance to the city. He flashed his dog tags at the attendee to open the gate as he jumped into the nearest car in the lot. Once the gates were opened he tore through the entrance, racing towards hammerhead. 

The drive seemed to take forever, even though he had arrived there in half the usual time. It was during the drive that he realized he was still carrying your dog tags in his hand. He started feeling overjoyed at the prospect of seeing you again. He let himself imagine what it would be like when the two of you saw each other. In his mind, he was opening the door to your room, you called his name as you pulled him into a hug, and held him like you never wanted to let go, like you used to. He would hold you in his arms and breath you in, and memorize the feeling. He would be able to give you back the dog tags, and let go of the last 3 months and start over with you.

He was going through this when he pulled into the hammerhead lot and jumped out of the car, not even bothering to park in an actual spot. 

He ran into the building and asked the first person he saw, "Where is she?"

His fellow hunter, knowing what he meant, pointed to one of the few dorm rooms in the building and he rushed in and was taken aback when he saw you. In his imagination, you were you. Healthy, smiling, energetic. What he was saw far from that. You were almost unrecognizable.

You had your head down and your eyes were glossed over, lost in your head. You had shackles and chains on both wrists and ankles that had dug deep over the course of the 3 months, until the skin was raw and broken. He thought maybe he could see bone in one of the wounds. Your eyes were sunken in, your body, skin and bones, and your once full cheeks were now hollow. In fact, if there were one word he could use to describe you, it would have been hollow. It looked like you were missing some part of you. Like you had left a piece of you in whatever hell you had just come from and it hurt him.

you looked up at him with unfocused eyes and then he could see it, a moment of recognition before they widened in absolute terror.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME" your words, and the fear in them, cut him like a knife. He watched you jump up and move away from the bed to try to create distance with him, but you fell over. He was next to you in an instant, ready to help you back up like he had so many times before on hunts, but you tried to scramble away from him. 

No, he thought. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. I need her to understand. 

He tried reaching for you once more, to catch you before you fell over again. Your body was so frail, he was afraid you might break if you did. But Ignis and a doctor held him back, sensing how much he was upsetting you. Instead, Gladio helped you up, but you never took your scared eyes off of him.

He had to hold you, he needed to take away all your fears, he needed to make this better. It was all his fault and he needed to fix it. 

"LET ME GO!" he yelled at the two men holding him back. He called out your name, but you shrunk back, like he had slapped you by saying it. "I SAID LET ME GO."

"Prompto! get out of here!" Gladio yelled at him, but he wouldn't listen. Prompto could make this better, he needed to. He finally broke free of the two men, and ran over to you before they could stop him again.

He reached out for your wrist as gently as he could and tried to pull you away from Gladio so he could hug you. so he could feel you in his arms and know you were real.

But you started screaming and slapped his face as if he were attacking you. He let you go then. The look in your eyes hurt far worse than the slap, but what you said next was a knife in his gut.

"Please. Please don't hurt me." he wanted to cry as he saw your hand shield your stomach, where he had shot you before. "Please, not again. Please don't hurt me again." and it broke him. 

he said your name softly to apologize. but he didn't. He didn't deserve your forgiveness, he didn't deserve your love, he didn't deserve your friendship, and you didn't deserve any of this. He let Gladio lead him out of the room as he thought to himself "What have I done to her?"

 

When he and Gladio were out in the hall, fresh tears started welling in prompto's eyes. "She hates me, doesn't she? For everything that's happened to her? Good. She should."

Gladio looked down at his younger friend and his heart hurt for him. Prompto was a good person, he did everything he could over the past 3 months to make it right, and shouldn't feel this way about himself. "you know it's not like that at all, Prom. She doesn't know what's going on. She was exposed to a lot of Malboro toxin. She barely even knows what is real and what isn't."

"But she knew me. she knew i had shot her. it's probably the last memory she has from before all of this." The blond countered, determined to make every one understand what a terrible person he was.

Gladio put a hand on his friends shoulder. "No, she really doesn't. She doesn't remember anything. she doesn't remember who she is, where she is, what happened. whatever that was back there, that was Ardyn messing with her head. It wasn't you." he said trying to reassure his friend.

"Do you think he'll come looking for her." Prompto looked over his shoulder as if Ardyn would walk through the door any second now. Prompto wouldn't have minded if he did. If he had another shot at the immortal, he would have made sure he didn't miss.

"Nah," his taller friend said confidently, "look at her, she's a mess. can barely stand up. If he were looking for her, he would have found her a long time ago. Don't worry about that tonight. just try to get some sleep, you look pretty bad too. Maybe tomorrow, after a few elixirs, she'll be back up and still be running away from all those terrible puns you make." Gladio said to try to lighten the mood.

Prompto didn't laugh, but he did appreciate his friend's attempt and agreed. 

Gladio went back into the room, and Prompto grabbed the nearest chair and parked it right outside your room's door. 

He must have nodded off because next thing he knew, Ignis was shaking him awake, whispering softly. "She's asleep now, we had to give her some pretty strong tranquilizers to get her to rest, but if you want to go in for a minute, it should be fine so long as you are quiet." 

Prompto thanked Ignis for everything he did that night, and the adviser brushed it off before going to another dormitory to sleep.

Prompto got up, and crept into your room. You were asleep on the bed, and Iris was laying across two chairs near you. He quietly sat down in another empty chair next to your bed and watched you. As emaciated, and sunken in as your face was after months on the road, watching you sleep peacefully in the bed, Prompto could see a glimmer of who you were before all of this. He could recognize a hint of the same sleeping face he had woken up to time after time at camps. 

He reached out, and gently brushed some of your hair out of your face. He held his breath as you stirred just a bit before you let out a sigh and fell back into a deep sleep. Prompto decided that was a close enough call and got up to leave, not before quietly placing your dog tags on your nightstand where you were sure to see it when you woke up. 

with that he left the room and shut the door slowly. Once he was back out into the hall, he stretched a bit, and sat back down in his chair outside your room, leaned his head back against the wall, and fell asleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so where can I buy me a Prompto? I am in desperate need. Do you think they have any at Costco?
> 
> Also another personal head cannon: Prompto would never admit it, because he was with Cindy at the time, but he totally used to wake up early so he could watch You sleep. Am I right??
> 
> Lastly, be honest, is me repeating snippets of the same event from different character's pov interesting or repetitive?


	7. Do you one better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the confusion gone, you set out to find out who you were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the feedback on the last chapter everyone! I really appreciate hearing from you all.
> 
> Also notice that I have a definitive number of chapters this story is going to be. There is an end in sight people and I just hope it doesn't disappoint.
> 
> Happy reading!

You woke up the next morning to Iris fussing over the dressings over your wrists and ankles, where your shackles were removed, and the Elixir drip that had been pumping you full of the mind clearing antidote all night. For the first time in a long time, you hadn't dreamed about the blond from last night killing you. You, in fact, didn't dream about anything and you were completely fine with that.

when Iris saw you were awake, she started chit chatting with you. You listened as best you could, but even though your mind was clearer than you could remember it ever being, it was still a bit hazy, and you would loose focus here and there. You still smiled to yourself when you realized this was also the first time you could remember that you knew for a fact this was reality. That the girl in front of you was really here, and that you were really awake, and not just dreaming.

you spent most of the morning silently listening to her ramblings, trying to gather information about the different people here, which ones were her friends, which ones she was acquaintances with. You guessed you two must have known each other well enough before everything happened by the way she was opening up to you. It made you feel more real. To know that "________" had friends. People she knew. People you knew.

You wanted her to keep talking, so you tried not to interrupt her, but when the doctor from the night before came into the room, you caught a glimpse of the blond haired man from your dreams talking to Ignis outside of your door. As the door was closing, the blond turned and the two of you made eye contact. Without the fog from the confusion clouding your mind, you could see in just that glimpse that his eyes were not the same as the dreams. Whereas in the dreams, they were stony, cold, and full of hate, the ones you saw just now were full of warmth, concern, and even a little pain that you didn't think had anything to do with the scratches you had left on his cheek.

even so, seeing him that close made you freeze a bit in fear. But no one else seemed to be concerned by him.

once the doctor began examining you, checking your eyes, testing your reflexes, Iris had quieted, suddenly becoming a bit more reserved around someone she didn't know as well.

You took this as an opportunity. "Iris? Who was the guy from last night. The blond one who grabbed me?"

She looked a bit awkward, not sure how to answer since she didn't know what had set you off. "His name is Prompto. You two, uh, used to be really close."

"We were friends?" you asked. 

"More than that! You two were partners. Uh Hunting partners that is" she added after noticing your befuddled look.

You had to take a few minutes to take in this new information. Unfortunately your mind was still a little slow from the residual toxins in your system. "But something happened between us didn't it?" you gut told you it had, and you knew enough to trust that feeling.

The doctor started packing up and Iris took this time to think about the answer. She wasn't sure what she should tell you, not wanting to upset you, or overstep her bounds. You could see her formulating her response as the doctor turned to you to let you knew you were doing well, and just a few more days of being hooked up to the Elixir should clear the toxins completely. You thanked the doctor, and as he exited the room, you saw Him again, Prompto. Leaning against the wall opposite of your room, watching for you with sad, tired eyes.

you turned back to Iris, still waiting for her answer. "uh, I don't really know the details of what happened between the two of you." Her answer sounded careful, but honest. "If you really want to know, I would talk to Prompto himself. He probably knows you better than anyone else here. oh!" she turned to the night stand to pick up the tags left there, "He dropped these off for you last night." She smiled as she handed them back to you. 

You studied them, like it were the first time you had seen them, and saw the blood pooled into the grooves of your name. As scared as you were, your curiosity peaked. what happened to you? Who were you? You resolved to find out, no matter what it took. But not until the toxin was out, you decided. If you were going to confront a man who for the last 3 months had shot you every night, you needed to be focused, alert.

 

You didn't need to wait long. A few days later, the doctor drew your blood and everything was clear, the poison was finally eradicated. And you could feel it. There was no longer any fog, any haze. You could focus and wouldn't lose yourself in conversations anymore. You no longer unintentionally retreated into your head. 

During those few days, you knew Prompto was always close, just outside of your room. Each time the door opened, you would either catch glimpses of him, watching for you, or the person entering , usually Iris, would greet him just outside your door, out of your line of sight, before they greeted you. You reasoned with yourself that if he were going to hurt you, he would have already done it by now. 

That's what you told yourself as you opened the door for the first time to find him. It was pretty late, and Iris and the doctor had left a few minutes ago, after doing their final check of you. 

You thought he would be close, but you hadn't expected him to be right there outside of your room. He was sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair, with his head tilted back against the wall breathing softly in his sleep. You took a few seconds to study his face. He had dark shadows under his eyes and looked tired even as he slept and you could still see markings on his cheek from where you had scratched him. Something in your gut made you want to let him sleep, not out of fear for yourself, but because of worry for him. But you had to know.

"uh, Prompto?" you asked just loud enough to wake him. You watched as his eyes shot open at the sound of your voice and he almost tumbled out of his chair at the shock that you were talking to him. "Y-yes?" he answered hesitantly as he steadied himself before standing up. You realized then that he was just as nervous to be around you, as you were of him. It made you feel more at ease, so you continued.

"I hear we were partners. I...I was wondering if you could tell me what happened? and who I was before all of this?" You watched as he mulled over your question, and you saw a switch turn on in his head.

"I can do you one better." he pulled a camera out from his pocket. "I can show you." 

You looked back up at him and saw him smile for the first time since you met less than a week ago. It was warm and inviting, and even though you couldn't remember what the sun was like, you couldn't help but feel like you missed it less when he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I won't be able post for a few days, probably Friday or so. Just giving you all fair warning. 
> 
> But just so I know, in a show of comments, who here is thirsty?


	8. Behind the frame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Prompto get closer as he tries to help you understand who you were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "slight" tone shift from the angst because based on the feedback from the last chapter, apparently I have been abusing poor prompto.

Prompto was starting to feel the exhaustion creep in. Several nights of terrible sleep on an uncomfortable chair would do that to anyone. But despite Gladio, Ignis, and Iris telling him he should get some rest, on a real bed, and reassuring him that you weren't going anywhere, he didn't feel right leaving you. Even if you didn't want to see him, he had been searching for you for over three months, and he wasn't about to let anything happen to you now that he finally had you back.

He guarded your room almost 24 hours a day while you were getting the Marlboro poison expelled from your system, leaving only to take a quick shower in one of the empty dorms, or eat, if he couldn't get Gladio or Ignis to grab food for him from the diner.

But it was all worth it to him for the quick peeks of you he would get from the doorway sometimes. He could see you getting better and better. Each time he caught a glimpse of you, your eyes were clearer and as the days wore on, you didn't return his stare with fear anymore, but curiosity. That was a step forward but he still didn't try to confront you yet, afraid of scaring you again, and pushing you away. 

Iris had told him that the first day that you had asked about him and that she thought you'd be reaching out to him soon to talk. So he decided he'd wait however long it took for you to be ready. He'd already waited this long, what was a few more weeks?

He hadn't expected you to talk to him so soon though. On the fourth night of broken sleep on the uncomfortable chair, he had just gotten himself settled and was drifting off when he heard the most beautiful voice call his name. He was awake in an instant, ready and willing to do whatever it was you needed him to. He was so excited that you were talking to him again, but also nervous about saying or doing the wrong thing and frightening you, that when he tried to look up at you to respond he ended up over extending his back trying to give you space and almost fell out of the chair. Thankfully, his reflexes were still pretty quick and he caught himself before he REALLY embarrassed himself. "y-yes?" He finally managed as he opted to stand up.

"I hear we were partners. I was hoping you could tell me what happened, and who I was?" You looked up at him with guarded eyes, but at least you weren't slapping him.

Your request sounded simpler than it was. Prompto just didn't know if he could do you justice. How do you tell someone they were the personification of perfection? How could he get you to understand just how amazing he thought you were from everything he's learned about you, and get you to see yourself exactly as he saw you? 

He smiled as he realized he had the answer in his back pocket. Over the year you two had been partners, he had taken countless photos and remembered the significance behind each shot.  
"I can do you one better. I can show you!"

He saw your eyes go from the camera in his hands, to his eyes, and he smiled wider as he saw your gaze soften just the slightest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh and then on this hunt, we were up against a behemoth, a huge one with horns that came up to here" Prompto was reaching up with his hands, mimicking the beast in the photograph. He started telling you about how he dodged out of the way just in time as you hit the monster with darkness, doing his best to act out the scene so you could picture it. 

"And then just as it was about to step on me, you sweep in and you stabbed it right in the chest" he said as he held his hands to his chest and fell dramatically into a chair next to your bed.

You started laughing at his antics, and Prompto had to stop mid-story to take in the sound. This was the first time he had heard you laugh in a long, long time. He had forgotten just how mesmerizing it was, and how good it felt to know he was the reason for it.

It had been a little over two weeks since you had started talking to Prompto again, and during that time, each day he would bring in a new SD card filled with different pictures of old memories the two of you shared. Each picture had a story and the two of you would spend hours going through them all. 

The first day, Prompto had kept his distance trying to give you space in case him being close triggered you, but as the days went on, he could see you relax more around him. You started giving him soft, shy smiles when he described a particularly funny or embarrassing memory, usually at his expense. And soon those smiles became more and more frequent as he became more confident around you. But today was the first day, since before he started going out with Cindy even, that you had actually laughed and he fell in love with the sound all over again.

It was like you had never left. It was like Cindy had never happened. You and Prompto could talk again, and he could make you happy. You no longer cringed at his puns, or rolled your eyes at his musings. He was actually getting the chance to start over with you and he couldn't believe how lucky he was.

"Then what happened!?" You egged him on. He realized he had gotten lost in his reverie, but snapped back quickly and continued his story, his heart beating faster each time you giggled.

After the two of you had gone through all the pictures he had on the card, you fell into a comfortable silence. You were sitting on the bed, going through the slide show once more to memorize each story, as Prompto watched you frown or smile at whatever picture you were looking at, sitting in a chair next to you.

"Where was this picture taken again?" You asked without looking up.

Prompto leaned in close to you, your cheeks almost touching as he looked over your shoulder at a hilariously unattractive candid of you eating a meat kabob in Lestallum's busier marketplace. "Lestallum, about a year ago. It's even more crowded now!"

"And that's where everyone lives now right?" You looked up at him and he realized just how close your faces were and started blushing.

"Yeah, pretty much." He answered cheerfully, backing up slightly to give you the space you hadn't asked for.

He watched as your eyebrows furrowed. "Is that where I lived? Is that where I kept all my things?" Your voice started getting higher and more energetic at the idea of having a home, and Prompto hated that he had to disappoint you.

"Uh, you had an apartment there" he reached up behind his neck and started rubbing his neck nervously. "But when you were taken, there was no one there to pay the rent and other refugees had been waiting for a place to live, so they kind of gave it away...but most of your stuff was at hammerhead any way." He added as he saw your face fall in disappointment. 

"So my stuff is here then?" 

"Uh, no." Prompto couldn't look you in the eye anymore. "There were a lot of new hunters that also needed space, but I managed to salvage a few of your things I thought were important. I've been keeping them at my place in the city." He replied, hoping that made you feel better.

He looked back up at you and saw you were staring down in concentration. Finally you met his gaze again with a look of determination. "Take me there. Now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were surprised with how quickly Prompto agreed to let you into his personal living space. When you had asked, he immediately suggested leaving for Lestallum right away, found his friends to tell them where you two would be, and grabbed one of the available cars to take you to the city. You were wary of being alone with him, but not because of the dreams. Over the past few weeks, without the haze from the confusion, you had realized that the kind, sunny man who entertained you with stories of your heroism for hours each day was not, and could not be the same one from the nightmares. But something about being around him made you feel nervous nonetheless. That couldn't stop you though. You needed to see your things, and know you existed in more than just the pictures Prompto showed you. You wanted to see physical evidence that you had had a life. 

When the two of you arrived at his apartment, the first thing you noticed was how many pictures he had up. Pictures littered the walls and any flat surface he could put a frame on. He welcomed you in, as if you had been there before, and went to where you guessed his bedroom was to bring out some of your things.

You took this time to walk the perimeter of his living room looking at the different memories he had up.

There were lots of pictures of himself, Ignis, Gladio, and a fourth friend you assumed was "Noctis" from listening to Iris and Prompto. But for every picture of the four of them, there might have been two of yourself. Either with Prompto or just on your own. Some of them you had already seen from what Prompto had shown you, but others were still new to you.

It all made you wonder. Iris had said the two of you were just hunting partners, but the way he would look at you when he thought you weren't looking, how he still slept outside of your door at Hammerhead each night, and how much time he was choosing to spend with you, to help you remember, you were starting to think there may have been more to it than what Iris had led on.

"Here's what I saved from Hammerhead!" He was cheery as ever as he walked back into the room with a huge box.

He put it on the floor and sat down to start taking stuff out. You let the thought go as you sat down next to him, helping him sift through your things.

A lot of what was in the box was clothes, which you were thankful for. Iris had been lending you hers which you appreciated to no end, but they didn't help you feel anymore like yourself. He had also managed to save a few items you knew must have been sentimental to you. A necklace that he said belonged to your mom, a stuffed moogle from your childhood that had definitely seen better days, a small framed picture of your parents on their wedding day, to name a few.

You couldn't believe all the things he had saved for you, everything he had done for you. You were trying to hold back the rush of emotion you were feeling but your eyes started tearing up at his kindness.

Prompto saw you were about to cry and immediately started apologizing, thinking he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have just shoved everything at you like this. I know it must be super overwhelming!"

Through the tears, you looked up at him and smiled. "It's not that at all, I just don't know how I can every repay you for all of this. Everything you've done." You leaned in and reached for his hand to give it a gentle squeeze in gratitude. "Thank you. So. much. You've done so much more for me than I could have ever ask for."

You saw him look down at your hand over his as he returned the squeeze. When he looked back up, you could see a blush start to creep in underneath his freckles. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know what.

His sudden shyness and the way he was holding your hand reminded you of what you were thinking about before he had come back into the room. You had to know.

"Why DID you do all of this for me?" You gestured to everything in front of you with your free hand. "And all the pictures, why are there so many of me here?"

His blush deepened and you felt him tighten his grip on your hand as he answered. "You're important to me." He answered simply.

You paused, trying to figure out the meaning behind his words. But they were too ambiguous and his face unreadable. You had to know. "Were we together before all of this?" You ask unabashedly, knowing if you didn't he would just skirt around your question. Whatever the answer was, you wanted to hear him say it.

He broke your eye contact and looked back down at your hand he was holding. He started absentmindedly rubbing his thumb across the smooth skin on the back of it before he readjusted his grip to interlace his fingers with yours.

When he looked back up, there was a confidence he hadn't had before. Like there was no doubt in his mind whatsoever. "We were in love. At least I was. I just hadn't figured it out before you disappeared."

Your face flushed. But as you looked into his deep blue eyes, you could see why you would have loved him. Since you had let him into your life, he made you smile until your cheeks hurt, and made you laugh more than anyone else could. He didn't treat you like you were broken like the others did. He was just content with being around you and it made you feel like the you you were now was as much as a person as the girl in the photos. It would be so easy to fall in love with him.

But the girl he had loved WAS the one from the photos. The one that knew how to fight, how to cast spells. She was funny, she was sarcastic, she was everything you weren't. You weren't her. And no matter how being around Prompto made you feel, you WERE broken, you WERE less, and you had nothing to offer him to make up for it. The realization hurt. 

You broke away from him and stood up to create some distance. You looked down at the floor in shame. "I'm sorry I'm not who I used to be." Your voice shook from trying to hold back the tears that threatened you. As they broke through, Prompto stood up in front of you and gently grabbed your chin and guided it up so you were looking back into his sincere eyes. He used both hands to cradled your face, softly stroking the tears off your cheeks with his thumbs.

"You are exactly what you've always been. Perfect." he started leaning in and for a second you had thought, had hoped, he was going to kiss you. But instead he drew you into a hug, dropping his arms to wrap around your back before continuing. "And I don't care if it takes you a month, a year, 10 years to remember that. I'd wait forever if it meant being with you." He whispered in your ear.

You wrapped your arms up and around his shoulders, not wanting to let go, but suddenly he snapped his head back to look at you again, realizing he might have misunderstood what you were saying. "Unless, you don't think that's what you want anymore! ... uh, do you think it's what you want?" He was now holding your hips at arms length, again trying to give you space you hadn't wanted, with a confused, worried look on his face.

You brought your hands to his chest and frowned, not knowing exactly how to answer. "I'm not really sure what to think. I haven't really had to 'think' for months now. I usually just did what my gut told me to do. It's all I had to go off of without any memories." You replied more towards yourself than to him.

"And, what's your gut telling you now?" Prompto pressed you.

You closed your eyes for a minute, trying to process everything you learned and felt over the last few weeks you had been with Prompto. Your brain said to take this slow, whatever IT was, and to take your time getting to know him again. But your gut had a completely different idea in mind. Well, it had never been wrong before!

You opened your eyes and looked back up at the handsome blond still staring nervously at you, waiting for your answer. You smiled up at him before you wrapped your hand around the back of his neck and brought his lips down to yours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby Chocobo + Marshmellow fluff right there.
> 
> this chapter was supposed to end a little less fluffy, and a little more smutty, but i had to break it up because Prompto was just too pure I couldn't dirty him up yet.
> 
> YET.


	9. Bare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no summary needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but this is my least favorite chapter. like it's absolute trash.

Prompto wasn't prepared. He couldn't understand what was happening as you smiled at him, with that look in your eyes, and wrapped your hand around his neck, running your fingers through his hair. He had to be seeing things. You couldn't be pulling him into a kiss right now, he had made you cry not once, but twice tonight. Why would you want to kiss him? He was definitely misinterpreting your intentions. Right?

It wasn't until he felt his lips on yours that he allowed himself to finally accept that this was real. It wasn't just his imagination, and he wasn't misunderstanding you. You wanted him. And the idea made him drunk.

He reacted immediately, pulling you in closer, so your body was up against his, and wrapped his arms around your back again. Prompto, using his height, angled his head just enough to deepen the kiss, and when he felt your lips fall open against his, he gently used his tongue to taste you. He felt you run you fingers deeper into his hair, and your other hand fall a little lower on his torso, as you let out a small moan into the kiss. He relished the sound.

He started kissing you deeper and deeper, wanting to taste more of you, to hear you moan again. He was letting himself get carried away and didn't even realized he had dropped one of his hands down to your ass and was pressing your hips against his as hard as he could, until he felt you rub against the bulge in his pants.

Prompto immediately pushed away from you slightly and moved his hand up to a more respectable spot on you back, afraid that he was taking things too far or pressuring you. "I'm sorry. Was that okay?" he looked at you questioningly. He saw what he thought was disappointment on your face when the kiss ended, turn into a smile, but he didn't know what to make of it.

"Okay? I can't remember ever getting a better kiss." The two of you couldn't help but giggle at your stupid joke, as Prompto pulled you in close to him again, resting his forehead against yours.

When your giggling had died down you looked back up at him with that same glint in your eyes, and dropped your hands down his chest until they were resting on his belt. He blinked a couple of times as he tried to control the sudden urge to start wandering his hands again. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked slowly, "because we don't need to if you're not." he offered.

He watched you bite your lip as you mulled over your options, and when you broke out into a mischievous smile and nodded your head slowly, his face flush.

And just like that he was on you, picking up where he had left off in the kiss, desperate to feel more of you. He lowered both hands to the back of your thighs, below where your skirt reached, and pulled both of your legs over his hips. You yelped in surprise, but pulled your chest closer to his, as his hands started sliding back up your thighs, resting just below your cheeks, underneath your skirt, as he held you up.

He walked you over to his bedroom and dropped the both of you onto his bed. His kisses then became softer, more loving as he ran his hand gently up and down your leg.

He came up on his knees and started backing up so he could kiss the skin between your shirt and Iris' skirt. He started inching your shirt up with his hands, his lips trailing kisses on the newly exposed skin as he went, taking in every inch of you and enjoying the feeling of you shivering under his lips. Until he saw it. The bullet size scar a few inches above your belly button.

He studied it, how it wasn't actually a perfect circle, but flared out like a star, how small it really was but how much damage it had done, how deep into the skin the scar went. He felt a sudden tinge of guilt starting to bloom in his stomach as he realized you didn't know yet. You didn't remember what had happened, and you hadn't brought up with him yet. But before that guilt could fully take over in his mind, he lost his train of thought when he saw your hand snake down to cover the scar, and your face red with embarrassment.

"I guess I don't look exactly like I used to, huh?" you say self consciously, as you lifted up your free hand to show him the other scars on your wrist from the shackles, and the burn in your palm from where your kidnapper had forced the crystal in it. Now that he looked at you, he could see your body riddled with new scars from unseen battles you were in while you were gone. Encounters with daemons you weren't prepared for in the state they had found you.

Prompto hated the thought that you felt these scars made you any less beautiful, as if the evidence of what you had survived made you less desirable to him. He reached up to the wrist you held in the air and kissed the underside of it, where the deepest scars were. He then peppered kisses from the burn on your hand, to the scars on your arm, and back down to your stomach, where he gently, but firmly moved your hand away so he could lay the lightest kiss on your oldest scar. The one he gave you.

He looked back up. "You are just as beautiful as the day you left." There was a weight in his voice from the need for you to understand just how sincere he was, and he didn't break his eye contact until you accepted what he said and smiled.

He then continued to raise your shirt, leaving kisses on your chest, collarbone, bare breasts and anywhere his lips could reach, before you helped him by taking it off completely, with his following. He leaned over you, and placed a chaste kiss on your lips, before trailing kisses back down your body until he reached your skirt again.

Prompto laid his body down between your legs, and worked his hands behind your back until he found the zipper. You lifted you hips a little so he could work it down, before he slid it, along with your panties, completely off of you.

He took more than a few seconds to take in the sight of your fully exposed body, your already wet pussy, and whispered the word "goddess" to himself, making you blush. The blond then let out a breathless sigh, and hooked your legs over his shoulders, wrapping his arms around your thighs so he could part your lips. His mouth was on you again, sucking and teasing your clit. He groaned at the sweet taste of your juices and the stimulation made your breath hitch.

He smiled against you as you started panting his name and grabbing fistfuls of the sheets. He had started out with slow licks, but was now working a much faster rhythm which made you moan as you reached down and ran your fingers through his hair, pushing his mouth harder against you.

He could feel you start to tremble and shake under his mouth. He moved one of his hands to your abdomen to hold you down as your legs started twitching, while the other hand stayed wrapped around your leg, kneading your inner thigh. He started working his tongue at a feverish pitch, enjoying the taste of you becoming wetter and wetter.

"Prompto, I---Ah!" You gasped as you unraveled around him. Your thighs closed in around his head but he didn't stop. He used both hands to help keep your legs open as he continued to suck your clit, wanting the lengthen your orgasm so he could keep listening to you crying out his name. He felt you pull a little harder on his hair in your ecstasy as you started riding out your orgasm onto his face, until you finally came down from your high.

He released your clit from his mouth, before giving it, and both of your inner thighs quick kisses. He then looked back up at you as you gasped for breath, your eyes mirroring the want he felt. He dragged his thumb across his bottom lip before putting it in his mouth, wanting to taste the last bit of you on him. He then brought himself up onto his knees and started taking off his pants, watching your eyes widen with lust once his erection was freed.

He put his hands on our knees and slowly started dragging them up your leg, wanting to learn by heart every curve of your body as you trembled from his light touches. He then laid down on top of you and worked his hands behind your back so he could press every inch of your bare body against his. You brought your legs around his hips as he aligned himself with your entrance. He leaned in for a deep, slow kiss, breathing you in, before asking you, just one more time, "Are you, are you sure?"

You giggled at how sweet he was being, how much he cared about you. But instead of answering, you used your heel to dig into his butt, forcing him into you, without warning. The sudden sensation of being inside of you, to the hilt, made both you and Prompto gasp in pleasure. His eyes fluttered as he gave you a few seconds to adjust to him. Then he slowly drew himself almost completely out, before he plunged in again.

He continued his slow pace, closing his eyes to memorizing the feeling of you wrapped around his length, until you grabbed his face in your hands and brought his lips to you again.

Resting his forehead against your own, you begged him. "Prompto, please. I need more of you." And that was all it took.

He moved his arms up to hook over your shoulder from behind, to keep you in place, as he started penetrating you faster and faster than before, with him pounding into you harder and deeper than ever before.

You arched your back at the new sensation, and tightened your legs around his hips as you worked your own so you could meet his when he crashed down on you, resulting in an even deeper penetration that left Prompto moaning.

"Ah gods, _________. You are so amazing. You are so beautiful." He whispered his praises into your ear, his voice husky with lust, each word punctuated by your two bodies colliding. You started crying out his name again and again, as the new rhythm and angle Prompto was meeting you brought a familiar pool of warmth in your core, and he had never heard a more beautiful sound.

You dug your nails into his back, trying to hold onto the feeling. Prompto lifted his head to kiss you, before asking "are you getting close again?" You nodded, suddenly forgetting how to use your words.

"M-me too." His voiced straining from trying to hold himself back.

Prompto brought his lips down hard on you again, as he slowed his rhythm to reached down between the two of you, until he found the sensitive nub in between your legs and started quickly rubbing it to help make sure you came before he did.

You broke the kiss, your eyes screwing shut and you head fell back as you, for the second time, let yourself go to your orgasm. You could feel him start to pick up the pace once more, slamming into you through your tightness, until he found his own relief and buried his head against your neck as he cried out your name, his fingers digging into your hips.

He didn't move for a few moments, except to leave a trail of kisses on the dewy skin of your collar bone, wanting to freeze in this moment with you forever. You had closed your eyes in the post ecstasy bliss, so he gently brushed his finger against your cheek until you were looking at him again. "I really missed you, ______" he confessed, finally letting go of the pain of loosing you for so long. And before you could respond, he kissed you one last time. 

He finally rolled himself off of you, but didn't let go of his grip, afraid you might disappear if he did. Instead he adjusted you so you were on your side, with him behind you, spooning your body against his own. Suddenly, three weeks of sleeping outside of your door had caught up with him and he didn't know how much longer he could stay awake. As he closed his eyes, finally succumbing to his exhaustion, he pulled his comforter over your bodies, and whispered softly, "I love you _____" and burrowed his face in your neck, before letting your scent drifting him off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this was the worst. definitely not confident in my smut writing. I write tragedies, not sins people! don't hate me.
> 
> I'm probably going to update sometime tomorrow or Monday to cleanse myself of this filth. Promise the last few chapters in the home stretch will be better!


	10. Like a dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day

It was like a dream. That's the only way you could describe everything. The past few weeks with Prompto, everything that happened the night before, waking up in his arms now. It was all like a really good dream.

You woke up still cradled in his arms, to him gently rubbing circles on your stomach, around the scar there. When he felt you start to stir, he gave you a soft kiss on your shoulder. "Good morning, beautiful" his voice was husky from sleep, and you could hear the smile behind it. That wonderful sunshine smile you loved. 

You opened your eyes and rolled onto your back so you could face him. "Good morning, sunshine" Prompto's hand froze on your stomach, his expression was hard to read, maybe surprised?

"What did you call me?" He asked gently.

"Sunshine. Your smile reminds me of the sunshine. I'm sorry was that not okay?" You asked confused now. Prompto didn't seem like the type to care about a nickname sounding stupid.

Prompto broke into a small smile before leaning in to kiss you, running his tongue across your lip. "That's what you used to call me, before everything. I was thinking you might have started remembering things." He started absentmindedly circling your scar again. The one that went all the way through you, you could feel it's twin on your back if you reached up.

You searched your mind to see if there was anything there other than the past few weeks. But all the "memories" you had were just remembered stories Prompto told. You shook your head slightly. "No, the only memories I have are some from when I was making my way here. Some daemon attacks, how I got this burn" you lifted your palm that had held the crystal. "But nothing before that. Like this scar." You reached your hand to his circling the scar. "But they had to have been made around the same time right?" You wondered more to yourself than the man beside you.

You hadn't noticed Prompto freeze again, but when you looked back up at him, he was lost in thought, and his face had hardened. "It was Ardyn's fault." Was all he said, almost whispered. He looked angrier than you had ever seen him in the few weeks you had known him.

Ardyn, that's right. That's who took you. Ignis and Gladio had told you about him one of your first few nights at Hammerhead. He was the one that caused the perpetual darkness, he was the reason your parents were gone, he was the one that burned you too. Shackled you to the walls, left you for dead when you couldn't help him. It wouldn't surprise you if this was just another way he had hurt you. But he wasn't here and you were alive. That's all that mattered.

You gently brushed your hand against prompto's cheek to coax him out of whatever dark thought he was having, when your stomach let out the loudest rumble. And suddenly the mood lifted again. Prompto started laughing at you and nuzzled into your neck to whisper in your ear. "I guess someone's hungry?"

You then watched as he hopped out of bed and got dressed. "I'll go make us something! And then we can go through all the pictures I have here too!" He chattered as he was walking out of the room.

You laid in bed for just a minute longer, wondering if this was how it always was with you two. The constant hugs and kisses, him holding you at night. You wished if nothing else, you could have remembered those. 'Oh well' you thought, 'just have to make new memories I guess.'

You got up to your pile of iris's clothes from last night, but realized you had a whole box full of your own clothes in the living room. Clothes that would fit you, a bra that would fit you! 

You folded up her clothes neatly to return to her at hammerhead, and rushed out of the room stark naked, ignoring the sound of Prompto dropping a heavy skillet on the floor when he saw you. You reached into the box and grabbed the first set of clothes you could reach before heading back into his bedroom to change.

All your clothes were pretty plain. Nothing too fancy, nothing too bright. Just the basics for hunts. Even so, when you saw yourself in prompto's mirror, in your shirt, in your pants, it just felt right. This was you. And when you walked out, you guessed that Prompto agreed. 

When he saw you walk out in an outfit he had seen about a hundred times before, he dropped a plate of food on the counter and made his way quickly to you. He gave you a tight hug and kissed your cheek. "Welcome back, _________"

"Glad to be back," you laugh as he grabbed your hand and brought you over to the kitchenette with your food on it.

It was a simple breakfast, but it was his and you savored every bite, counting your blessings that this dream was real life.

After breakfast, he brought out his camera and the few remaining memory cards he had. All morning and afternoon, he went through story after story, making you laugh until you couldn't breath, and sitting behind you so he could wrap his arms around you.

It was more fun than either of you could remember having in a long time, and you hadn't noticed how much time had passed until prompto got a phone call from Ignis.

"Oh shoot, it's already evening! Ignis is probably worried about us, let me just take this really quick." He answered the phone while detangling his limbs from you, and started making his way to his bedroom. Before he got there, you could hear him calming a worried Ignis. "Hey ignis, what's up?.....no we're fine, we're just at my apartment and lost track of time...."

Now that you were alone, you flipped though the last few photos on the card you were looking at, making up a backstory to each of them yourself. 

Then one caught your eye. It was this photo of you, during battle, about to cast a spell on an unseen daemon. The blue magic you were using surrounded you with a green aura, that was most potent at the hand you were pointing at your opponent. It was really beautiful, but that's not why you stared. There was something about this picture that was almost familiar.

You heard Prompto come back into the living room and sit behind you again, and you could tell he was tense from his conversation with Ignis, but you were busy clawing at your mind, trying to grasp onto this photo, the memory behind it.

you heard Prompto sigh but it sounded far away. "_________, can we talk really quick, it's about your sc......" Prompto trailed off when he saw you weren't listening to him.

"_________?" He tapped your elbow to try to get your attention again.

And that act, coupled with this picture broke the seal around your mind. 

"You tried to show me this picture." You said quickly, almost desperately. "That night I disappeared, you tried to show me this picture and I yelled at you."

The more you talked, the more you remembered. Suddenly it wasn't just the conversation you could recall. You had thought that when you got your memories back over time, that they would trickle in slowly, one by one. But that's not how it happened.

It all came back in a rush, like someone had just thrown you into a pool of ice water. The memories seared themselves into your brain, and suddenly you knew who you were, you remembered when your parents had died, when you became a hunter, when you met Prompto. The memories forced their realities onto you, destroying the few truths you thought you knew from the last few weeks back. Truths you wanted to hold on to but couldn't anymore.

You jumped up, the camera still in your hand and prompto was looking at you with a mix of confusion, fear, and... Was it guilt? "We were...we were never together." You started shaking as the shock from everything took over and you dropped his camera. "You were with Cindy. You were in love with Cindy. Never me. You didn't want me. As your hunting partner. You didn't want me and then you. You shot me. It was you. It wasn't Ardyn."

Prompto swallowed as his eyes darted back and forth between yours in panic. "Wait. No wait!" He stood up and held his hands up when he saw you start to back up. "No I can explain, I can explain everything." He took a step toward you, but you took three more back. He looked like he was about to cry. "Please, _______, just...just let me explain?" He almost begged, but you continued to back away from him.

There was nothing left that needed explaining. And you couldn't take anymore lies. You couldn't take anymore memories. You couldn't take being here anymore. You had to get out, you had to leave this place. 

"I have to go! I have to get out of here," you told him, turning around and darting for the door.

You could hear him chasing you, you heard him calling your name, but you couldn't be around him right now, too much was happening in your head, you needed to be alone, so you kept running, through the crowded streets of Lestallum, until you had lost him.

You ducked into an alley to catch your breath. As you leaned against the wall you became overwhelmed and collapsed against it, curled your knees to your chest and started sobbing. Because suddenly you parents died right in front of you, because suddenly you were never with Prompto, because suddenly everything he had told you was a lie.

You cried because this morning, everything had been like a dream. And suddenly, like a dream, it all ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :( 
> 
> I'm sorry Prompto, please forgive me.
> 
> Free salt for all!


	11. Second chances don't exist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh! Almost forgot.
> 
> Thank you to everyone that comments! Your feedback, even if it's to yell at me for being the worst, give me life :)

Prompto couldn't believe how lucky he was, that this was real. That he was getting his second chance, and that everything was going the way it was. Last night had really happened, and you were now here in his arms, laughing and smiling over your memories together, and he could hug you and kiss you whenever he wanted, and you would let him. You were happy with him. You two were together.

It's all that he had wanted for so long. If he was being honest with himself, it's what he wanted since the first time he met you. Even then he could see how amazing you were. How the two of you just synced to each others rhythms, and how beautiful you were. But he hadn't let himself even imagine that back then, because that was just a fantasy, you were way out of his league, and he would just hurt himself pretending otherwise. And yet here you were, with him, kissing him back, leaning into his touches.

The whole day had been perfect. The two of you together lost in your own world, with just each other to worry about. Spending the day with you, going over the rest of the photos he had, just the two of you, made him forgot about daemons, and hunts, and Ardyns, and darkness, and he would have gone on forgetting if it hadn't been for his phone. 

Halfway through one of the last photo rolls, his cellphone rang for the first time in weeks.

"Oh shoot, it's already evening! Ignis is probably worried about us. Let me just take this really quick." he excused himself from you and started making his way to his bedroom for some privacy, feeling sorry for having worried his friends by not telling them you two wouldn't be back to Hammerhead for a while. "Hey Ignis, what's up?"

"Gladio and I haven't heard from you for a while now. We expected the two of you back last night. Is everything alright?" Prompto could tell Ignis was annoyed by his lack of communication, but he was far too happy to be bothered by it. 

"No, we are fine. We're just at my apartment and lost track of time." Prompto hoped Ignis would just leave it at that, but he wasn't that lucky.

"You two are at your apartment?" Ignis's voice was heavy with meaning and Prompto could feel his face start to turn bright red. He had never been the kiss and tell type of guy but didn't want to lie to his friend if asked out right. 

"Yes" Prompto answered shortly, and for a few seconds he thought he could actually hear the wheels turning in the advisor's head.

"And, is that where you slept last night?" Why did Ignis have to pick up on everything?

"Yes" Prompto answered more curt than before. Ignis paused for even longer, digesting the implications of Prompto's one word answers.

"I see. Have you told her yet? About that night with Ardyn?" Ignis asked, already guessing the answer.

Prompto's stomach went into knots. This morning he had convinced himself that it wasn't the right time to, that you two just needed more time to strengthen your relationship before he told you. He convinced himself that if he told you now, you would be terrified of him, not trust him and it would hurt your chances of remembering. But that wasn't the real reason. Deep down, he was terrified that if you knew, you wouldn't be afraid of him, but you would hate him. Everything that happened to you since getting taken was his fault. The memory loss, the torture, the months on your own, most of your stuff being thrown out by Dave and your landlord. He had ruined your life and if you knew the truth, you would see that and hate him, all over again, like you had before you left. 

But the guilt Prompto had felt last night, when he saw your scar again, came crashing down on him again. He knew he should have told you last night, when he remembered it. He knew he should have told you this morning, when you were musing over the timing of when you got the scar. But he couldn't and had made himself feel better by stating that it was Ardyn's fault. It wasn't the entire truth, but it also wasn't a lie. And that fact comforted Prompto enough to let it go, and enjoy the rest of the day with you. 

But here Ignis was bringing it up again. "Um, not yet. There hasn't been a good time to bring it up." Now that was just a flat out lie that made the knots tighten in his stomach.

Thankfully Ignis saw right through it, which made Prompto feel less guilty. "The longer you wait to tell her, the worse it will be when she finds out. I can't force you to do anything you don't want to, but in my honest opinion, telling her sooner rather than later will lead to better outcomes" the strategist stated with a matter-of-fact tone.

Prompto had always valued Ignis' advice, and knew already that his pragmatic friend was right. Prompto sighed into the phone "I know Ignis, I'll...I'll tell her tonight." He said goodbye and hung up the phone, taking a deep breath preparing himself to open his bedroom door to face you. 

When he made his way back to the living room, you hadn't moved and were staring at his camera. He took his spot, seated behind you on the floor with his legs wrapped around you, while his back rested on the legs of his couch. He reached his arms around you again, and sighed softly before speaking. "_______, can we talk really quick, it's about your sc...."

You were so deep in concentration, you hadn't even heard him. He reached for your elbow, to try to shake you out of your thought bubble when you suddenly looked up, with wide, shocked eyes.

"You tried to show me this picture. That night I disappeared. You tried to show me this picture and I yelled at you." You started shaking. Prompto had no idea what you were talking about and tried to wrap his body around yours again to stop your shivers. And then he saw it over your shoulder. The Picture. The one from the night that had started it all. 

Prompto's heart stopped and suddenly his brain wouldn't work. He couldn't talk, he couldn't think. He was just frozen. He could see it, from the part of your face he had sight of, he could see the memories flooding back in. Your eyes widening as they did. 'No. No. No. No. Please no. not like this' was all Prompto could think.

You had jumped out of his lap, still shaking from the shock. You were about to drop the camera you were trembling so much. "We were, we were never together. you were with Cindy, in love with Cindy, never me." Prompto started to panic. He had forgotten that he never told you about Cindy. In all honesty he had forgotten about Cindy all together. His whole world was consumed by you these past 4 months, and Cindy was just a phase, not even worth remembering anymore. But now you remembered. And she wasn't just a phase for you, She was months of torture for you. Prompto could tell from the hurt in your eyes. The same hurt you had tried to mask that night, so long ago.

"You didn't want me as your hunting partner. You didn't want me and then you...you SHOT me? It was you. It wasn't Ardyn" you voice grew quieter and quieter as you put together the pieces from the night you were taken. 

Prompto saw the blood rushed from your face and saw behind the shock, there was the same look of heartbreak you had given him after he shot you. The last look you gave him before you disappeared. He felt sick, like he was shooting you all over again. He finally came out of his stupor and stood up, hoping to catch hold of you, to take the both of you back to how it was, not 10 minutes ago. 

"Wait. No Wait!" You started backing away from him before he could even reach out to you, so he put his hands up, hoping you would stop, showing you he meant you no harm. 

You couldn't leave yet, not until you knew the truth about Cindy, and Ardyn. Not just what you remembered, but everything. He was finally ready to tell you the whole truth. "No, I can explain. I can explain everything!" but you kept backing away from him, like a caged animal. His heart dropped, he could feel the tears burning his eyes. What if he never got to tell you? "Please, _______, just, just let me explain?"

He knew if you just gave him the chance he could make you understand. He just needed you to stay. 

"I have to go! I have to get out of here." 

As you started running out, Prompto chased after you as best he could, but you were fast, agile. You always had been. And in the crowded street of Lestallum, you easily squeezed in and out of people until he eventually lost you. 

"Fuck!" he yelled at no one, before racing back to his apartment for his phone. Prompto called everyone, Ignis, Gladio, Iris, Aranea, Dave, hell even Cindy. He told them all what had happened and made them promise to call him if they saw you. He needed to explain, and he knew that looking for you himself in Lestallum would not help. This was your city, you had lived here years before Insomnia even fell. You know the ins and outs of this city and if you wanted to disappear here, you could. If he wanted a chance to explain, he would just have to wait until you cropped up. His friends were also your friends. You would contact one of them. You had to. 

He didn't have to wait long, either. A few hours later, Gladio called and let him know you had just pulled up to Hammerhead. Prompto thanked his friend, and took the car he had used the night before, was it really only the night before?, to race back to Hammerhead.

When Prompto pulled up, he could see you, Gladio, and Ignis standing in the light, next to Takka's diner, and the three of you were...laughing? He got out of the car, and was completely confused. You really were laughing. Not only that, you were energetic, excited. You were smiling from ear to ear, and seemed genuinely happy. Like you had the first time Prompto met you. Happy and carefree, despite your past, despite the state of the world.

As Prompto walked up, Gladio saw him first and whispered to Ignis, but you hadn't noticed since now your back was turned to the parking lot. It was only when Prompto called out your name, that you turned around and saw him coming. Immediately your smile faltered, but it didn't actually go away completely. Prompto took this as a good sign and continued forward.

"Hey, _______, can I talk to you?" Prompto wasn't sure if he expected you to be angry or scared, but it didn't matter because you were neither. 

 

You forced your smile to go a little wider, but your eyes were completely indifferent. Apathetic. "Sure." you say politely but with no emotions. Gladio and Ignis excused themselves into the diner, so the two of you could talk alone. Prompto was sure the keep his distance so you wouldn't bolt again.

Prompto started the apology he had prepared over the last few hours and the whole ride here. "I just, I need you to understand how sorry I am for not telling you the entire truth earlier, and I can understand if you are mad at me, but I just need you to know I never lied to you. Ardyn, he has these powers, can make people see things that aren't real. When I shot you, I thought I was shooting him. I thought I was helping you. That's all I ever wanted to do was help you." 

Prompto paused, letting you digest this new information. Your eyes bore into him, searching to see if there was any more to the truth behind them, and he stared back, knowing there wasn't. This was it. You finally nodded your head in acknowledgement. You believed him.

"And.. And about Cindy, I really have no excuse for not telling you. I don't know why I didn't but it doesn't change anything. I don't regret last night and I think We could be really happy together, that I can make you happy if you let me. I was telling the absolute truth yesterday. I am and have always been in love with y---" You started to visibly wince and raised your hand to cut him off mid-apology.

You started to rub your eyes, which looked puffy as if you were crying earlier that night, but when you looked back up, your face was once again stoic. "Prompto, you don't need to apologize, really" your voice was even and courteous, and yet somehow cold. "It doesn't matter that you didn't tell me what happened. It's okay, because I know now anyway." 

You closed your eyes for a minute to collect your thoughts, and Prompto could see the lightest blush start to form over your cheeks as you reached out to his hand and gave it a small squeeze to show your sincerity. He started feeling hopeful, even though your eyes were still expressionless. "And I don't regret what happened last night. At all. I promise. Because everything that led up to tonight was ultimately what led me to get my memories back. I'm me again because of the time I've spent with you. And for that, I am eternally grateful." You gave him a half smile, as a peace offering but all it did was make him feel sick inside. Those forced smiles, that never reached your eyes. He hated them, he hated that you saved them just for him, he hated that they meant you were hiding something from him. Why couldn't you just tell him what you were thinking?

"But...?" Prompto finally asked, his voice somewhere between anger and heartbreak.

He watched as you frowned, but waited for you to answer. He wasn't going to move until you answered. Finally you let your eyes soften with pity for him, before you answered. "I care a lot about you Prompto. You know I do. But...But I think you might have been right. Maybe we shouldn't be partners anymore." 

And with that, you gave his hand a final squeeze, before you turned around and headed back into Headquarters, leaving Prompto dumbfounded.

He couldn't believe this was real. That it didn't matter what he did or what he said. That he had once again messed everything up with you. This was supposed to be his second chance, his chance to make everything right with you, to be with you. His second chance to change everything, but in the end, nothing had changed. In the end, you still left him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So because of the fact that chapter 8 became chapters 8-9, I actually need 13 chapters to finish this story I think....so sorry to lengthen the pain train!


	12. This isn't a love story, it's a tragedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or is it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that has stayed with me this long. The end is nigh.

'This is for the best.' You told yourself, over and over again. 

It had been weeks since you and Prompto last spoke, since you remembered everything. And that night, after having cried for a few hours over Prompto's latest betrayal, you promised yourself, in that dirty alley in Lestallum, that you would never let yourself be reduced to this again. You would never let him make you feel angry, used, tricked ever again. You would never let yourself be lied to, or hurt by him. You were better than this, your weren't the "play the victim" type. Atleast you didn't used to be before you met him. And if being with him turned you into this mess of a person, then you just couldn't be around him anymore, it was that simple.

Since then you had been actively avoiding him, which was really hard considering you were stuck at Hammerhead. Lestallum was overrun as it were and any living spaces available were out of your meager hunter's budget. Especially since you weren't even healthy enough for hunts yet. 

But you were almost there. With the memories back, so came your fighting skill, your battle technique, your learned magic. It's just the stamina and endurance that would take more time and training to get back up, which you didn't mind nowadays.

Training yourself to the brink of exhaustion meant you didn't have the energy to at night to lay awake and think about Prompto, replay the last conversation you had with him, watch as his heart broke in front of you over and over again, feeling guilty even though you had done nothing wrong.

"Maybe we shouldn't be partners anymore." You remembered the words stung as you said them, you had to turn away before Prompto saw you cry, afraid he might stop you then, and make you stay. You didn't know if you would have had the strength to leave then. But thankfully he respected you enough to let you go.

'It's for the best. Prompto doesn't actually love me and soon he will realize it and thank me for this.' You tried to convince yourself.

Of course Prompto didn't love you. You had known him for a few years, been hunting partners with him for at least one of them before you were taken and that entire time, he would comment on and on about Cindy. Gladio had told you that before Ardyn, he had clued Prompto in on your feelings for him. What Prompto was feeling wasn't actually love. It was just guilt he was confusing for love, over what happened to you, even though he didn't need to feel guilty. You knew it wasn't his fault at all. But you also knew he didn't love you, like he thought. He wouldn't have lied to you for so long if he did. And one day he would realize it and hurt you again, like he always did. 'That's how this story will end, with him leaving.' You tried to tell yourself this to make it easier.

But it wasn't easier. Every time you saw him, it hurt all the same. He had started taking on hunts closer to Hammerhead, so he was there most days of the week, and each time your eyes met, he would look at you as if you were ripping out his heart again, and yet behind the pain, you could see the hope he still held. Hope that you would change your mind.

It got to the point where you had to leave Hammerhead for nearby cliffs to train, in order to avoid him. You would go there, practice with your daggers and swords fighting imagined monsters, and not come back until you saw that Hammerhead was quiet. Sometimes you could even convince Gladio or Iris to spar with you out there if they were around.

But tonight it was just you, working on your own, trying and failing to not think about Prompto. You had been out a lot longer than you usually were, trying to drown out your especially active thoughts about him, when you thought you heard something move in the darkness.

You froze. You weren't yet up to your former strength, and you weren't sure if you could handle whatever daemon was stupid enough to wander this close to Hammerhead. But still, you readied yourself, daggers in hand, preparing to attack and retreat if necessary. Then you heard another noise, closer, then the sound of something dropping, and a familiar voice yell in anger "ah, shit!" Speak of the devil.

"...Prompto?" You knew the answer and wished you could just disappear. This cliff wasn't really THAT high, maybe you could jump. You could already see his blond hair in the little bit of iridescent light from Hammerhead. Why did it have to be him? What the hell was he doing here? And why, after all he did to you, did your heart still have to flutter at the sight of him?

"_______! You're here? By yourself? You know how dangerous it is now!" Prompto yelled in shock.

You start packing up your stuff, all of a sudden realizing how crowded this cliff was, and not wanting to invite a conversation with the blond tonight. "I'm fine. I was just leaving anyway" you mumbled in response, as you made to walk by him, back down the hillside.

"Wait, _______." His voice softened as he reached out in the darkness to grab your arm as you walked past him, forcing you to stop. "Can we...can we talk?"

You let out a sigh, you were tired, you were sweaty, and the last thing you wanted to do was start crying. That's how conversations with Prompto always seemed to end wasn't it? "About what?" You asked, turning around to face him, letting your things fall to the ground.

Even in the darkness, even though you wanted nothing to do with him, you couldn't help but note how handsome he was, and see the hurt from his blue eyes stabbing you. "About...us?" His voice was unsteady and he sounded just as tired as you felt.

You tensed up under his hand. You could feel the emotions you had kept to yourself these last few weeks starting to bubble to the surface, but you wouldn't let them out. You didn't want to let him know he still affected you. You couldn't. "There is no 'us.' We don't have anything to talk about." You shrugged his request off and tried to leave again but Prompto still had firm hold of your arm.

He gently swung you around so you were facing him once more. You could feel his even facade start to crumble, revealing the torture underneath. "Please don't say it like that. Don't act like what happened was nothing to you. Please."

You couldn't look him in the eyes. Your gaze fell to the ground between you two as you tried to control your own rising emotions. Your fists started balling from your efforts.

When you didn't respond, Prompto continued. "It did mean something, right?" He asked, already confident about the answer. "Those few days I had you were the best of my life, and I know you were happy too. Please!" He begged, as his hands dropped to your hands, cradling them. "Just give us another chance. Let's start over, I can make you happy. I know I could, just let me try." 

You could feel your emotions winning, the anger, the pain. You didn't want to hurt Prompto anymore but you couldn't hold back. His words broke the dam. 

"Happy?" You scoffed. "You think you can make me HAPPY? You probably think this is some kind of love story, don't you? That there's a happy ending in it for everyone. Well I hate to break it to you but it's not. It's a goddamn tragedy, Prompto. And all that's left for us is more hurt and more pain. I'm just trying to save us both the heartache. Why can't you see that?"

Prompto had let go of you in shock at your cynicism. After a minute, Prompto finally collected himself "You're wrong. it doesn't have to be that way. We were happy, we were good together. You just have to give me a chance, actually let us try. You're the only one stopping us. If you would just stop being so stubborn, you would see how much I love you, how much I'm always going to love you, how happy we could be together!"

Prompto always had this unwavering optimism, it was one of the things you loved most about him. But optimism wouldn't be enough to undo the damage. "No, we can't. There's too much between us now." you snapped back.

"Look, _______, I know I messed up! I know I should have told you everything from the start, but it's not like you never kept anything important from me either. Don't forget that." You knew he was referring to your feelings for him and he had a point but he was trying to compare apples and oranges with you.

"Prompto, that is NOT the same and you know it! Do me a favor and think back to how you felt when Gladio told you how I felt." 

You watched as he recalled the memory, and his expression softened again. "I was...thrilled. Scared about what I would have to tell Cindy, but completely thrilled."

"Right. And do you know how I felt, when I realized nothing you told me was the truth? Do you know what it feels like to have the person you trust more than anyone else in this fucked up world, the person you love most, lie to you? To your face? I don't care that you shot me, I don't. I don't care that you were with Cindy. But you misled me, about everything! I needed you, trusted you, and you took advantage of me, made me think we were..." You couldn't finish the thought. The memory of you two being together was too sweet and too painful to talk about, and your voice was already starting to quiver from the ache Prompto's lies had caused you, a pain you had tried to bury. "It hurts Prompto, it really does. And that's all our relationship is and has always been. Just the two of us finding new ways to hurt each other. I can't do it anymore."

Prompto reached for your wrist as you tried to leave once more, thinking you had made your point. You expected him to wince under your words, but he looked almost happy. Was almost smiling. "You...you love me?"

Your face turned red. You realized this was the first time you had ever voiced your feelings for the gunslinger, which he had obviously caught onto.

"Do you love me?" Prompto asked again when you didn't answer. He took a dangerous step closer to you. His eyes darkened, hungry for the answer. The intensity behind his stare made you weak at the knees. He wasn't going to let you go until he knew.

"It doesn't matter Prompto!" You tried unsuccessfully to get out of his grip, afraid of what might happen if he were to step any closer.

"Bullshit it doesn't matter. Do. You. Love. Me?" You could tell that he was getting irritated with you. You didn't blame him but you still couldn't say it.

"No. No I don't, now let me go" you denied as best you could. But he didn't let go, he just repeated his question, and held onto your wrist tighter, the harder you struggled.

"Tell me the truth. Do you love me!?" You could tell he didn't believe you, but your denial of your feelings still hurt him. 

Why was he making you do this? What good could possibly come from this? Why couldn't he just let you go? You could feel tears starting to well, you had to get out of there, away from him. "Let me go!" You yelled. You started actually fighting against his grip, using all the strength you had to try to leave, pulling away, scratching and clawing at whatever you could grab, hoping he would let you go. 

"______, STOP!" you could hear the exasperation in Prompto's voice but you continued to struggle against him. 

Prompto was stronger than you, stronger than you remembered, or maybe you were just weaker. He let you struggle against him for a while, but wouldn't budge. He had had enough, and, as gently as he could with you squirming against him and kicking at him, grabbed you, and pushed you until your back was against the side of a taller cliff. He then pinned your wrists above your head, using his body to press yours against the mountain so you wouldn't hurt him or yourself trying to get away. You still tried to fight his grip but you couldn't move with his entire body flush against yours. Tears of frustration finally broke through and you started sobbing.

"Do you love me!" Prompto yelled. You couldn't help but remember the last time he was this close to you, how happy you had been back then.

"No!" You lied again. You just wanted this all to stop. You wanted to go back down to Hammerhead. You didn't want to love him anymore.

"Damn it _______! Just tell me the truth! For once in our relationship, trust me and tell me what the hell you're actually thinking!" He swore, and you could see the pain you caused him each time you lied. You knew it was your fault. All of this was your fault. The two of you were being pulled apart not by the things Prompto had done these past few weeks, but by the secrets you kept for months before. The months of lashing out at him, the fight, him feeling like he needed to lie to you when you got back. It was all your fault but you couldn't admit it. If things had been reversed you know Prompto would have forgiven you without a second thought. He was always better than you. The embodiment of sunshine and love, but you, you were spiteful, you were petty. And still you couldn't admit it.

You hung your head down, hating yourself for all of this, hated that you loved a man that was so much better than you. "Please! Don't make me say it." You begged. "You already know." You managed in between sobs.

You felt Prompto's grip on your wrists immediately loosen a bit, but his body was still pinning you to the rock. He brought his face close to you, your cheeks brushing against each other's. "Do you love me?" He asked gently into you ear. You felt his warm breath against you, his lips ghosting up your neck and pausing where your pulse was. He was so close you could feel his heartbeat against yours.

You couldn't answer through the hiccups from crying. He let go of your wrists completely, and you let your arms fall to his chest, weakly trying to push him off of you but he wouldn't move. And you weren't even sure if you wanted him to anymore.

He brought his hands down to your hips, lightly dragging them down your body as he went. You couldn't help but shiver under his touch. He then rested his forehead against yours, forcing you to return eye contact with him again. He started using his thumbs to massage circles into the sensitive skin near your hips as he almost brought his lips to yours. Almost.

"Do you love me?" He whispered, you could feel his lips teasing yours. Begging them to release the answer he so badly craved.

You couldn't stop yourself. Prompto being that close to you, promising you a future you knew didn't exist, was too intoxicating. You ached for him, his touch, his kiss. You reached up, ran your fingers through his hair and forced his lips on you, pouring all your anger and self hate into him.

Prompto returned your kiss with just as much passion, gripping your hips so tight, you thought he might be bruising you. But you didn't care. You didn't care about anything other than feeling him there against you.

You could feel him pressing you harder into the rock with his body, as his hands moved from your hips to the zipper of your pants, lowering them just enough to get his hand in.

As you felt two of his fingers slide easily into your wet sex, while his thumb pressed against your clit, he broke the kiss to ask you again. "Do you love me?" His voice full of lust and need.

You finally wanted to answer, your tried to, but the feeling of him inside of you, while his thumb rubbed quick circles around your sensitive nub left you breathless and unable to find the words that so badly needed to be said. 

"I....I....." You started to tremble, your core pooling with desire as Prompto edged you closer and closer.

"Please. say it." His voice was rough and you could hear the desperation behind it. He continued working his fingers in and out of you, curling against your walls, while his thumb continued its rough circles. You couldn't think about anything but him.

You tried to find the words again. "I...I...Prompto" you would feel heat rising from your core, making your legs tremble as you fought to stay standing. "Prompto, I----ah!" Suddenly the heat exploded out of your core, spreading across your entire body, until you were shaking and tightening around his fingers as he forced you over the edge. The tension that had been building in you for weeks, the negative emotions, the fear of being hurt were all but released from you. You suddenly remembered the words you wanted to tell him, needed to tell him. 

"I love you, Prompto," you cried in your ecstasy. "I love you so goddamn mu-" his mouth was on your lips again and you felt him slip his fingers out of you before quickly ripping your pants down until they fell at your feet and you could stumble out of them. He broke his kiss while he undid his belt and lowered his jeans a few inches, just enough to release his already hard cock.

Before you knew what was happening, he roughly grabbed one of your legs and wrapped it around his waist, using his free hand to lift your head up so he could kiss you again. 

He lined himself up with your wet entrance, but before filling you, he paused with a request, "Say it again."

There was no point in denying him now. And you didn't want to anymore. You didn't care if it couldn't work with him. You didn't care that he had hurt you, it felt too good to say it. To be honest. It was like a weight lifted off of you.

"I love you!"

He slammed his entire length into you, making you cry out. It felt so good it almost hurt.

He paused there, letting you adjust to him. "Look at me" He commanded gently. You looked up into his his almost violet eyes, eyes that were filled with adoration of you. "again." He almost begged as he looked back and forth between your eyes, wanting to make sure it was true. That you really did love him.

You leaned in to kiss him, gently biting his lip, before answering. "I love You, Prompto Argentum." You stared back at him, wanting him to understand just how sincere you were.

He took just one sharp inhale. And then he started pounding into you with new vigor, slamming your body against the uneven rock behind you. You thought for sure if his hands hadn't bruised your hips earlier, the jagged stone was definitely going to leave a mark, but you didn't want him to stop. You begged him to keep going, dug your nails into the back of his neck, as you held onto him when your one standing leg started to shake from the pleasure pooling in you again.

"I love you, _______, so so much." Prompto's voice was breathless and surprisingly tender compared to how he was ravaging you now, full of honesty and emotion. If you hadn't believed him before, you believed him now. 

He drew up your other leg and hoisted it over his hip, so he was supporting your full weight against him, not once stopping his pace. He cupped his hand on your ass, digging his fingers in as he angled your hips slightly so he could get in deeper, making you moan. You could see in what little light there was, sweat starting to bead on his forehead from his effort.

His breath started staggering and his rhythm was faltering. You knew he was getting close. "________, I'm gunna need you to cum. Like right now." He said desperately, as he readjusted you so you were being supported by just one of his strong arms, and used his now free hand to reach over to the bud of nerves between your legs. He barely had to touch you before you felt your walls crash down around him and you held onto him as if your life depended on him, as you rode out your pleasure. You were crying out his name so loud you were sure the people down in Hammerhead could hear. 

Hearing his name fall from your lips, feeling you tighten around him pushed Prompto over the edge and before you could even come down from your high, you could feel him twitching inside of you, releasing hot ropes of himself in your core, as he buried his head into your neck, biting your collarbone to muffle his own cries.

As soon as he finished, Prompto collapsed to the ground, still holding onto you, and you fell on top of him. His muscles were shaking from exhaustion and he was still gasping for breath as he snaked his arms around your back to keep your body against his, so you couldn't leave.

And you didn't want to. You wanted to stay there with him, feel the warmth of his body against yours, love him. You returned his embrace and took a deep breath, taking in his almost citrus scent.

After a few minutes of lying in each other's arms, Prompto broke the silence. "I can't believe I found you tonight,__________" he chuckled in disbelief, his voice still a bit breathless from the surprise work out he just put in.

"How did you find me?" You asked, wanting to know if Gladio or Iris had tried to play match maker and tell him about your spot.

"I come up here some nights, after I'm done in Hammerhead. You can see everything going on down there. Sometimes when I'm up here, I can see you below, laughing or smiling when you talk to someone. I wanted to try to take a picture of you happy tonight. To remind myself why I shouldn't give up on us." He answered nonchalantly, turning to look at the camera that lay forgotten where he had dropped it on his way up earlier.

You felt your face burn bright red at his confession. "Oh...that's really..." You were trying to find the exact word you needed.

"Creepy" you finally responded just as Prompto tried to finish your thought for you with "romantic?"

You both paused at each other's ridiculous answers before the two of you burst out laughing. 

"Creepy!? You think I'm creepy!?" Prompto feigned indignation behind his giggles.

"Prompto! In what world would stalking be considered romantic?" You were wiping tears from your eyes. It felt so good to be laughing with him. It just came so naturally between you two. You had almost forgotten how it used to be. How easy it had been to fall in love.

Prompto rolled you over so he was now laying on top of you and kissed you again. "In a world of ruin I guess." He offered, rubbing his nose against yours sweetly.

As your giggling died down, you could feel reality and worry start creeping back in. You sighed despondently. "Prompto, how is this ever going to work between us? After all the shit we put each other through, how can you stand there and tell me that you're going to love me forever? That we have a future?" You say gently, not wanting to hurt him but also not wanting to get hurt yourself.

"Well I'm not standing, so there's that." Prompto joked. "_______, I know there's nothing I can do to convince you that I'm going to love you forever. But I can show you that I love you today, and tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that....if you let me." Prompto rested his forehead against yours and closed his eyes. "I promise to do everything I can to make you feel loved every single day if you'd have me." He leaned down and rested his head against your chest.

You reached up, ran your fingers through his soft hair, and cradled his head closer to you. Prompto couldn't promise you what would happen in the future, if you two would keep tearing each other apart, or if you could actually move on and be happy together, but Prompto was at least promising you tomorrow. You could give him tomorrow. "Okay" you responded softly. "Show me what you got, Sunshine."

You looked down at him as he lifted his head to make sure he had heard you correctly. You couldn't help but smile as he broke out into the purest, sunniest grin you'd ever seen on him. He leaned up to kiss you, and you kissed him back, knowing that no matter what happened, whatever the future held, you would not regret this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're thinking. This almost seems like it could be an ending. But there's supposed to be one more chapter right? So what am I gunna do for the actual ending??
> 
> Find out tomorrow.
> 
> Lots of love! <3


	13. The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The End.

You thought about that night, so many years ago, as you laid in Prompto's arms for what might be the last time.

You two were in a room at Hammerhead. Noctis had come back and was on his way to meet everyone. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio would have to go with him to the daemon ruled city of Insomnia. The journey would be dangerous, and the city even more so. There was a good chance they were not coming back.

"Do you remember that night on the cliff, Prompto? When we were first together after my memories came back?" Your voice was straining to hide the emotions that threatened at the back of your throat.

You felt him tighten his hold of you, holding you just a bit closer to him. "Yeah, of course I do." His whisper was filled with nostalgia towards the memory.

"Do you remember what I said that night? About our relationship being a tragedy, not a love story?" Your voice was starting to shake, but you had to be strong for him. You took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay.

You could feel him tense at your implications. "You're wrong." He sounded so sure, like it were a matter of fact what the future was.

Then, trying to break you out of your thoughts, he changed the subject. "What is it you wanted to talk about before?" 

You had to think for a minute. You had almost forgotten in the shock of learning the king had returned and that Prompto was leaving, that you had texted him while he was out on his last hunt that you needed to talk. It seemed so long ago you had been waiting for Prompto to get back, had it really only been a few hours? You had been so excited to tell him what you had learned a few days before he returned, but when he got home, before you two could even sit down, Prompto had gotten the phone call from Talcott. Noctis was back, and for the first time in ten long years, Prompto would get to see his best friend.

You yourself had never met the king, but from all the stories Prompto had told over the years, all the pictures he flipped through with you, you knew how important he was to the man you loved. Knew Prompto would follow Noctis to the ends of the earth if he asked. You understood completely, but also knew that whatever you had wanted to tell him didn't matter anymore. It wasn't important now. He was leaving and this was not the time.

"I don't remember." You lied. If Prompto knew you were lying, he pretended not to. You were thankful, you didn't want him to press you, not tonight.

"It's okay, you can tell me when I get back," he said. There was no doubt in his voice; he was sure he was coming back. That optimism, that unwavering optimism. Where would the two of you have been without it? What would you do now without it? You shuddered slightly in his arms.

He was silent for a moment, then gently, he grabbed your chin and slowly turned you up so you were looking at him. His face had become fuller with age, his freckles almost completely faded from the years of darkness. But his eyes were exactly the same, still staring at you with the same love they had always had. There was no fear, no uncertainty in his blue, almost violet, eyes, just resolve. He repeated "You'll tell me when I get back."

You closed your eyes and nodded, blinking away the one tear that escaped. You rested your head back down on his chest. "Get some rest now." He coaxed gently, petting your hair affectionately. You knew that when you woke up, he wouldn't be there, but right now he was, so you let yourself succumb to the exhaustion you had felt for the last few weeks, and let sleep carry you away.

 

When you woke up, you knew he was gone. The bed felt colder, but you turned around to his side to be sure. It was empty, save a picture he had placed on his pillow for you to find.

You reached over and saw it was The Picture. The one that had started it all, the one that had almost ended the two of you, not once, but twice. But it's also the picture that ultimately brought you together, and lead you two to share years of love and happy memories with one another. You knew it was his way of telling you that even though it felt like the end, it was just the beginning. You felt your stomach churn when you realized you never told him just how true that was.

It's then that the regret came flooding in. Without him here, there was no reason to hold it in anymore. There were so many things you had left unsaid. You didn't get to tell him how much you loved him, how much the last few years meant to you, how if you had to you would do it all again. And your secret. The one you had tried to tell him before you knew he was leaving. What if you never got the chance to?

You started crying at the heartbreaking idea. And you continued crying all day, well into the next night. Eventually the tears dried. After that many hours of crying, you had finally seemed to run out of them, leaving you exhausted and shaken. You looked out the window of your room, to the horizon, and steadied your breath.

You remembered how sure he looked the night before, how determined he was to come back. He had never broken a promise yet. You let yourself fall asleep again, and let his certainty overcome your doubts. 

The next morning you woke up to an almost unfamiliar feeling of warmth across your cheek. You looked out the window just as the sun was rising for the first time in ten years. They had done it! They had succeeded.

Everyone else at Hammerhead was cheering in celebration. Running around outside in the warmth, basking in the sunlight.

You also went outside but didn't enjoy the morning like everyone else. Their sunshine might have returned, but yours still hadn't. You went dutifully to the road that faced Insomnia and watched the horizon. Waiting for a sign of Prompto and his friends.

After a few hours, the other hunters had calmed down and realized that their help was needed in Lestallum, they were needed to move people out of the crowded city, now that it was safe. Even Cindy left Hammerhead to get her grandpa, Cid back to the garage.

Hammerhead was quiet and you were the only one left, but you waited. And waited. And waited.

You could feel your hope ebbing away with each passing minute, and you looked down as a final tear escaped. 

You caught yourself though, and thought back to what he had said two nights before. How confident he was. He was coming back. You furrowed your eyes and decided you would not let the doubt break you. You would trust him. He was coming back. He had promised.

You looked back up to the horizon. Your hand crept up to your stomach, where your scar from so long ago still was, and where underneath, you could feel your secret growing inside of you. The life growing inside of you.

'He's coming back. He's coming back and I will get to tell him.' You assured yourself. You promised yourself, you would not let this be another thing you left unsaid. 

And so you waited there in the day's light, for your sunshine to return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that is reading this. I can't believe you dedicated the time to finish the entire story. I'm so thankful you guys enjoyed it enough to keep going.
> 
> I don't know if the ending made you feel happy, or sad, or angry, or what. but so long as you are feeling something, I would consider that the highest honor.
> 
> And I wish I could have given them a definitive ending, but unfortunately, this story ends where the game ended, and it's up to you as the reader to decide if Prompto comes back, or if Reader was right in saying their story was a tragedy.
> 
> But no matter which side of the camp you are on, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if every single one of you reading this now would comment and tell me what you think happens after this chapter ended! It really only takes about a minute and an email address and I promise not to spam you if you tell me not to reply in your comment. But I really want to know what you as a person think! Did I deliver the "just angst" I promised I would, or did I trick you all into reading a love story?
> 
> I of course have my ideas on what happens after the end, but won't say it here or in the comments since I don't want to sway anyone one way or the other... Maybe if people are curious enough, I will think about doing an Epilogue, but as of right now, this is it. 
> 
> The only head cannon I will throw out there is that Reader's baby is a boy. His name is Solis and he is very much his father's son.
> 
> Thank you again for reading. Lots of love!


	14. Epilogue - Alone for too Long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 years after the end of the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just my personal take on the ending of both the game and this story for anyone interested.
> 
> If it differs from yours please feel free to ignore!

You woke up with a start. You could tell that it was much earlier than you normally would have, the little bit of skyline you could see out of your bedroom window was still dark. It was also quieter than it normally was. 'Solis!'

Immediately your maternal instinct told you something was wrong. You rolled over and surveyed the room. It had been 3 years since the sun returned, and you had become used to the emptiness of the bed next to you. It was almost normal now, but the emptiness of the crib was not. You panicked, automatically fearing the worst, as mothers do. You jumped out of bed and bolted out of the room.

As you made your way down the small hallway, to the living room and kitchenette, you slowed down and the panic receded. You were greeted with the smell of chocolate chip pancakes being made, and someone singing softly:

"I want to ride my chocobo all day...."

As the room opened up, you stood at the entrance, quietly taking in the scene. There in front of you were two almost identical blond heads, with their backs turned to you, bobbing along to the tune one of them was singing. 

"I want to see them run, I want to ride and play..."

The smaller of the two, being carried in the arms of the larger, saw you first.

"Momma!" he pointed and smiled at you excited to see you awake. He struggled against the strong arms carrying him, wanting to be put down so he could run to you. His father turned around to see what he was looking at, before he too broke out into a huge smile. "Momma!" Prompto repeated after his son. He let Solis down and "raced" him over to you. Solis of course won, and was hugging your knees looking up at you, laughing. Just a few seconds later Prompto reached you, on his knees, and was hugging your waist and looking up at you, mimicking his son.

You couldn't help but giggle at how ridiculous your perfect family was. Ignoring Prompto, you reached down and picked up your toddler. "Good morning my sunshine!" you cooed at him. You kissed his cheek as he showed you the brand new stuffed chocobo plush he was carrying, trying to tell you in his baby garble that Daddy had given it to him.

Prompto, still on his knees, around your waist was feeling left out. "Hey! what about me?" 

"You? You're supposed to be in Altissia for another two days!" you laughed at his adorable pout. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio were entrusted by Noctis to help rebuild Eos in the wake of the Star Scourge being eradicated. Prompto being the techie that he was, made trips to the different regions, Niflheim and Lucii alike, to make sure their Technological systems and communication lines were all up to date, the idea being the world would have an easier time working together, and becoming one, if everyone had access to each other. His was an important job, and he took it very seriously, but even though it took him away more often than either of you liked, you knew you, and your family, were always his top priority.

You ran your hand through his hair and gently coaxed him to stand up. He of course obliged and gave you a long, sweet kiss. When you parted, you opened your eyes and saw he had some dirt on his face, and looked tired. He must have only gotten home a few minutes before you woke up. 

"What are you doing home so early?" you asked, not being able to contain your excitement that he was.

"You know me, I can't stand leaving my girls alone for too long!" he chuckled. He then bent down to place a chaste kiss on your swollen belly, before he continued. "How ARE my girls doing?"

You rolled your eyes in feigned annoyance as you adjusted Solis in your arms. "well Momma's feet are swollen, she can't keep anything down, and she has the strangest craving for Leiden Peppers and ice cream."

Prompto was all smiles as he pulled you into a hug, and wrapped his arms around your back, as best he could now. "And Luci, how is she doing?" You could see how his eyes twinkled with love for the baby girl you carried inside you.

You closed you eyes as you rested your head against his chest before answering. "Luci is just fine. Although she is also very interested in this Pepper ice cream combination Momma mentioned."

You could feel Prompto's laughter through his chest as he reached over and kissed your not forgotten son's head, as well as your own.

It was a sweet moment, the three of you holding each other, that could have only been ruined by the smell of burning pancakes. "Prompto!" you yelled in real annoyance.

He turned bright red and laughed apologetically. You quickly passed your son over to his arms so you could waddle your way over to the kitchen and take over breakfast making duty. 

Prompto followed you dutifully and waited for your instruction on what he should do now that you were at the helm. "Put Solis in his high chair, and take a shower. You STINK!" you joked. 

Your husband, in Prompto-fashion, saluted you and worked on securing Solis to his breakfast chair. After he was done, he made his way to the bathroom("woohoo! Bath time!"), but not before pulling you into a hug so that your face happened to be right near his armpit. You playfully pushed him away and continued trying to salvage the pancakes made.

It was hopeless so you began making batter from scratch. By the time you finished breakfast, prompto was out of the shower, ready to help himself, and Solis to some pancakes.

You sat down, next to them, needing to get off of your feet, and contently watched Solis making his chocobo plush dance, while he hummed the song Daddy had taught him, and Prompto carefully spooning him small bites of pancakes, while making hilarious open mouth faces. 

"Big bite for Dada, Solis! Atta boy!" Prompto's proud laugh mirroring Solis's as he took a bite of food.

You smiled as your hand fell to your stomach, where you still felt the scar from so an eternity ago, where now Luci kicked underneath and you couldn't believe how lucky you were. Your mind wandered back to that night on the cliffs. You had always been stubborn, unable to admit when you were wrong, but here in this moment with your two balls of sunshine in front of you, a third on the way, surrounded by nothing but unconditional love, you knew, and were glad to admit that you had been wrong. Dead wrong.

As it turns out, it was a love story after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean come on guys. I'm not THAT mean
> 
> And now that they are happy I can put this story to rest :).


	15. When the Dust Settled

"The time has come." Noct's voice was quiet yet determined as he bid his friends, his brothers farewell for the last time.

Prompto could feel his heart breaking as he watched the King turn around once again, walking up the long steps to the Citadel. At least they got to say goodbye this time, he thought, pushing his grief away as he turned around, facing with his brothers-in-arms the iron giants emerging from the depths of hell.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gladio summon his great sword, followed by Ignis with his daggers. Prompto drew in a deep breath to focus his mind as he too summoned his gun. He could be sad later, but not now. He still had a job to do afterall. Not just to defend the Citadel, not just to protect Noct until the very end. But another job, another promise he fully intended to keep. 

He stared at the daemons without fear, realizing just how far he had come over the last 10 years. Iron giants were nothing. Iron giants, they could handle.

But it wasn't just the giants. After them came the necromancers, and after them the coeurls, and after them the red giant. Still they fought, exhausted, without any potions or Phoenix downs left, but still standing together as one.

Until it happened. Prompto ran after a red giant, trying to summon his machinery to use recoil, but nothing came. He tried again as he dodged out of the way of the giant's flaming sword, but still he only held his handgun. Prompto remembered when this had happened before. When Noct's powers were stripped from him while Prompto had been trapped at the first magitech base. Except Prompto knew it wasn't Niflheim technology that caused it this time. This time, they wouldn't come back. Noct was dead.

Prompto knew it was coming, knew it had to happen, but didn't know just how much it would hurt when it did. How the grief would overcome him, numbing him to his core.

Prompto dodged another attack as he checked his gun, the only weapon he had left. Half a round. What could he do with half a round? For the first time since he left he could feel it, the end coming, what Noct must have felt this whole time. But he wasn't afraid like he thought he'd be. As he looked at the wreckage around him, at the daemon still looming over them, an eerie calm swept over him. If this was how it was supposed to happen, if this was what it took to bring back the light, to rid the world of daemons once and for all, to make sure you lived the rest of your life in a better, safer world, then he was okay with that. Okay with letting go of the dreams and future he had planned for the two of you.

He looked up and saw Ignis throw his daggers at the giant, before trying to summon them back, not yet realizing that Noct was already gone. And as Ignis looked down at his empty hands, as if he could still see them, Prompto saw the giant charge his defenseless friend. The gunslinger quickly sprang into action, running to push Ignis out of danger, while Gladio tried to draw the daemon's attention back to him, to no avail.

Prompto managed to get Ignis out of the way, before firing a starshell with one of his remaining bullets. It distracted the red giant, but it was too late. Time seemed to slow down as Prompto watched the monster's sword continued towards him in slow motion, leaving the blond with nothing he could do except stand there and accept his fate. And as the flames drew nearer, close enough for him to feel the heat against his skin, he closed his eyes, making sure you were the last image he ever saw, praying a silent apology for not being able to keep his promise to you, as he waited for the blade to hit him.

But it never did, and with his eyes still closed, Prompto could see the bright orange light of the flames that had been so close disappear, replaced instead by a more peaceful and calmer light.

Sunlight.

Prompto eased his eyes open, almost blinded by the brightness of it all, of finally standing in daylight after 10 years.

He looked over at his friends to see them both just as shocked as he was, basking in the warmth and light. Knowing that his sentiments were mirrored in them. That whatever joy or relief they felt from all of it being over was weighed down by the sacrifice needed. And after a few moments, they as one, turned and walked up the steps of the Citadel to find their King, resting peacefully on his throne.

They spent the day silently mourning their friend. Taking Noctis from the crumbling Citadel through the streets of Insomnia until they reached the Cemetery, the one area of the city untouched by the decay and darkness. And they laid him to rest, marking his grave well so that they could return and, with help, give him the burial he deserved. And they stood there with him, only leaving once the light of the first true day started fading.

A few hours later, Prompto pulled up into Hammerhead in an abandoned but salvageable car they had found in the city, and almost instantaneously, they were surrounded by cheering hunters and civilians alike, thanking and praising them as the three griefstricken crownsguard remained silent, staring at the ground, trying hide their pain, so that the people could have the moment they so desperately needed.

But over the noise, Prompto heard the door to headquarters swing open and instinctively looked up, knowing in his heart who it was. And when his glacial eyes met yours, he couldn't hold back anymore. He pushed his way quickly through the crowd surrounding him, and ran over to you, crushing your body against his as the tears and pain finally broke through. He felt your arms wrap around him as he stifled his sobs into your neck, and he let you guide him back inside, into your room and onto your bed where you cradled him against your chest, comforting him silently as he cried into you.

You didn't try to lie and tell him it was okay, didn't try to make him talk about it. You knew him better than anyone else, and knew he wasn't be ready to yet. So instead, you let him cry against you for hours, wiping away what tears you could until there were none left. He had finally run out.

Prompto sniffled slightly as his eyes started to dry, still resting his head against your chest, holding you close to him. He trembled as he felt your hands run through his hair, and looked up at you when, for the first time since coming back, you spoke to him.

"Prompto?" Your eyes were dry but puffy, as if you had been crying earlier that day, before he had come home. He instantly felt guilty for having been away so long, but when he felt your heart racing in your chest, his guilt gave way to worry.

"I know this isn't the time. But... that thing I wanted to tell you before. I need you to know..." You swallowed nervously, only deepening Prompto's concern. Whatever it was you had to tell him was clearly important to you, meaning it was important to him. And good or bad, he needed to know.

"Hey, ______, it's okay. You can tell me. I want to know." His voice was a lot quieter and raspier from crying for so long but strong enough for you to know he meant it. You let out a sigh as you gently stroked his tear stained cheeks like he had for you so long ago, whispering your secret to him.

"I'm pregnant." 

Prompto's eyes widened as his mouth slowly fell open in shock. "Pregnant?" He whispered breathlessly as he studied your face, the way your eyes twinkled, the way you bit your lips nervously, the way you smiled as you nodded slowly, confirming it was true.

Then suddenly despite all the pain he felt from losing his best friend just days after seeing him again, despite how his heart broke over the sacrifice the young king had to make, he could feel it. Pure, unadulterated happiness.

"I love you. I love you so much." His voice cracked as he broke out into a smile of his own, so bright it put the sun to shame.

"I love you too, Sunshine." 

And just when he thought he was done crying, just when he thought he had no tears left to shed, he could feel them welling in his eyes as he crawled off of you to lay beside you, cradling you in his arms to kiss into you all the love he had to give. And there the two of you stayed, just watching as the sun rose again to start a brand new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I noticed a few people were still subscribed to this fic so I thought I'd throw out this one shot out there for anyone that wanted to read it. Mostly because after playing episode prompto, I totally believe the boys made it out of Insomnia alive because,
> 
> SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE THAT HASN'T PLAYED.
> 
> Not only did Ardyn give Prompto back his gun, but he was still able to use his tech skill without Noct's powers! I feel like if the boys already summoned their weapons before Noct died, they still had them after he died, but couldn't unsummon them or summon new ones at will.  
> Anyone with me?? Just me? 
> 
> Okay. I go now.
> 
> Also please note I wrote this in like 2 hours when usually it takes me a week to write anything worth reading so please forgive me for this rushed thing.


End file.
